Russia Steps Up It’s Attack – Start Using Hypersonic Missiles

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has entered its fourth week without capturing Kyiv or toppling Ukraine’s government, but the bombardment of Ukrainian cities continues — a move western defense experts warn could be a sign of a cruel and intentional strategy.

Russia stepped up its attacks Friday, saying it used its first hypersonic missile to destroy a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn.

Missiles and shelling struck at the edges of Kyiv and an aircraft repair installation was attacked outside the western city of Lviv. Hospitals, schools and buildings where people sought safety have been attacked around the country.   

Britain’s defense intelligence chief described it as an emerging ”strategy of attrition.” Without major cities captured, Russia seems to be turning to the “reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower” that will worsen the humanitarian crisis, Lt. Gen. Jim Hockenhull said Friday.

The assessment was echoed by the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based foreign policy think tank, in a report this week. The group warned that since Russia’s “lightning offensive designed to take the capital” had failed, the military appeared to be settling in for an extended campaign “designed to suffocate Ukraine.”

The strategy would likely involve attacking civilian areas, destroying cities and blocking off supplies, possibly leading to famine, according to the analysis.

The organization later drew parallels to an artificial famine engineered by the Kremlin in the 1930s that killed millions of Ukrainians — a Soviet attempt to “subjugate the Ukrainian nation.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. is pressuring China, which has kept its ties with Moscow and avoided taking a firm stance on the conflict. China’s position is in stark contrast to many western nations that have swiftly acted to condemn Russia and cut off its economy.

During a nearly two-hour video call on Friday, Biden warned Chinese President Xi Jinping of the “consequences if China provides material support to Russia,” according to the White House. 

Russia said it used a hypersonic missile Friday to strike a western Ukraine target, the Interfax news agency reported.

Hypersonic missiles are missiles that move five times the speed of sound. The Russian military said these missiles are capable of hitting targets at a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, or roughly the distance from New York City to Kansas City.

“The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aero ballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region,” the Russian defense ministry said Saturday.

This is the the first know use of hypersonic missiles since Russian troops invaded Ukraine.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Russia uses hypersonic missile; Military may be moving to ‘suffocate Ukraine’ in evolving strategy: Live updates