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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Alahna Kindred

Russia 'launches second hypersonic missile' so powerful it's dubbed 'The Sizzler'

Russia has reportedly launched a second deadly hypersonic missile at Ukraine.

The powerful Kalibr missiles are capable of travelling up to five times the speed of sound.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the missile was launched from ships in the Black Sea off the coast of Crimea at Ukrainian military infrastructure.

Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: "Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from the waters of the Black Sea against the Nizhyn plant that repairs Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in fighting."

The use of the missiles is the latest sign Vladimir Putin is getting increasingly desperate as his military struggles to carry out his illegal invasion of Ukraine.

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The powerful Kalibr missiles are capable of travelling up to five times the speed of sound (Allocer)

The Kalibr weapon is so powerful that NATO has been dubbed 'The Sizzler'.

Russian officials have claimed it can travel between 1,500-2,500 kilometres.

The spokesman also said further missiles, including the hypersonic Kinzhal missiles, were also launched from Crimea to destroy a fuel storage facility used by Ukraine.

Smoke rises after an explosion in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv (AFP via Getty Images)

The launch of the Kinzhal missiles has not been officially verified yet.

While Russia has not previously launched large scale attacks from the sea, its navy has blockaded routes into Ukraine via the Black Sea.

The Admiral Flota Sovetskogo Soyuza Gorshkov frigate test-fires a 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile (Russian Defence Ministry/TASS)

At least 100 ships are reportedly stranded in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, prompting calls for Russia to open a blue corridor to allow them out.

Ukrainian grain exports via that route have stalled completely, raising the threat of global food shortages.

Ukraine's ports on its southern coast have become key strategic targets for the Russian forces, who could use them to target the capital Kyiv from two directions.

Yesterday, a clip filmed from a military drone shows people fleeing through the snow after a base in the Ivano-Frankivsk region was struck by a Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Smoke is seen billowing through the air after bright flashes at the moment of impact.

Russia's defence military earlier said it had used hypersonic weapons for the first time in combat during Friday's strike.

The strike is believed to have been carried out using Kinzhal - or 'Dagger' - missiles, which have been claimed to have a range of around 2,000 km.

Their speed and ability to fly low makes them "invisible" to most anti-missile defence systems, and they are capable of carrying nuclear warheads, experts have said.

This morning President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned Russia's incessant bombing of Mariupol.

He claimed Russian forces in the city would "go down in history" as being responsible for "war crimes".

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