[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 19th (local time), the Russian military launched the hypersonic Kh-47M2 'Kinzhal' missile, destroying a Ukrainian military facility.
According to Russian media including Interfax News Agency, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced, "On the 18th, using the Kinzhal missile, we destroyed a large underground facility storing missile and aircraft ammunition of the Ukrainian military in Delatyn, a village in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in southwestern Ukraine."
AFP News Agency, citing the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, reported that this is the first time hypersonic missiles have been used since Russia invaded Ukraine and the war broke out. It also noted that Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast borders Romania, a member country of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Interfax News Agency emphasized that the Kinzhal has a range of 2,000 km and is a weapon that cannot be intercepted by existing air-to-air or surface-to-air defense systems. It also reported that ten MiG-31K aircraft equipped with Kinzhal operational capability are currently conducting experimental combat missions in the Southern Military District of Russia.
Additionally, according to foreign media, on the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense separately announced that it destroyed a Ukrainian military facility, a radio electronic intelligence center near the southern port city of Odesa, using a surface-to-ship missile system.
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