Russia Strikes Ukraine With Deadly Hypersonic Missiles As War Escalates, Kremlin Says
Russia says it has used hypersonic weapons on an underground military depot in Ukraine.
Hypersonic weapons are able to avoid detection from missile defence systems as they are able to travel at incredible speeds - up to five times faster than the speed of sound.
This would be the first time Russia has deployed such weapons during the country's invasion of Ukraine.
The Russian military said the hypersonic weapons were used to destroy an underground ammunition depot in Ivano-Frankivsk.
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Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: “The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground ammunition depot in the Ivano-Frankivsk region.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Russia it is ‘time to talk’.
Speaking earlier today, he said: “I want everyone to hear me now, especially in Moscow. The time has come for a meeting, it is time to talk.
"The time has come to restore territorial integrity and justice for Ukraine. Otherwise, Russia's losses will be such that it will take you several generations to recover."
He went on to claim Russian forces were blocking supplies of aid to Ukrainian cities.
He added: "This is a deliberate tactic ... This is a war crime and they will answer for it, 100 percent.”
Yesterday, Vladimir Putin held a rally in front of tens of thousands, during which he praised Russia's so-called 'special operation'.
Putin addressed large crowds in Moscow's Luzhniki stadium, as people waved flags and chanted 'Russia, Russia, Russia'.
Police said around 200,000 people had gathered in and around the stadium for the rally, which marked the eighth anniversary of Russia's annexation of the Crimean peninsula, which was seized from Ukraine.
"We are united by the same destiny," Putin said of the people of Russia and Crimea.
"This is how the people thought and that's what they were guided by when they had the referendum in Sevastopol.
"They want to share their historical destiny with their motherland Russia - let us congratulate them on this occasion, it is their occasion. Congratulations."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Topics: Russia, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin
Claire Reid