What are the “hypersonic” missiles Russia has used in Ukraine?
Vladimir Putin calls the weapons invincible, but they may change little in the war
Editor’s note (March 10th 2023): This piece has been updated after a Russian strike with hypersonic missiles on March 9th.
WHEN VLADIMIR PUTIN, Russia’s president, unveiled the Kinzhal ballistic missile in 2018, he called it an “invincible” weapon and lauded its “hypersonic” capabilities. Before the invasion of Ukraine there was no way to test that claim: hypersonic weapons had never been used in a war. But on March 9th, when Russia unleashed its biggest aerial assault in recent weeks, it struck with Kinzhal missiles. At least nine people have died, and the attack briefly cut off power to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Russia had used Kinzhals before, in late January 2023. It also claimed to have used them in 2022, in the early weeks of the conflict, though those reports were not confirmed by Ukraine or its Western allies. Now there is no doubt. What are hypersonic weapons, and what effect might they have on the war?
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