The robot was fired last Friday and crashed in the village of Deljatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region south of Lviv and about ten kilometers from Romania, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The robot, which is said to be of the Kinzjal type, is said to have destroyed a large underground weapons and ammunition depot belonging to the Ukrainian army, Igor Konashenkov, spokesman for the Russian Ministry of Defense, stated at a press conference, several news agencies report.

Hypersonic robots travel several times faster than sound and can maneuver in the air in advanced and unpredictable paths, making them difficult to track and stop.

Ukraine confirms attack

According to the state-controlled Russian news agency Ria Novosti, this is the first time such a robot has been used in the fighting in Ukraine.

The head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Yuri Ihnat, confirmed to local media on Saturday afternoon that the weapons depot had been attacked.

But he said he did not know what kind of robot was used in the attack.

There has been damage, destruction and ammunition has detonated.

They use all kinds of robots they have in their arsenal against us, he said.

Photo distributed by the Kremlin where a Mig-31 fighter aircraft is said to carry a hypersonic robot of the Kinzjal type.

Photo: Russian Ministry of Defense 17 February 2022

FOI: Important goal

The Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) also tells DN that this may be the first time that Russia uses the advanced weapon system in combat.

- In that case, it has been considered that the target they have shot at has been important enough to deploy these expensive robots, says Johan Norberg, military analyst at FOI.

It is also unclear why Russia published the data.

- In any case, I have a hard time imagining that this will solve Russia's other problems, Johan Norberg tells DN.

Putin threatened 2018

Russia's president threatened with the new weapons already in 2018 in a high-profile speech before the country's Federal Assembly.

Putin stated, among other things, that Russia developed Avangard, which is a hypersonic intercontinental robot system, and Kinzjal, which is an airborne ballistic robot that is now said to have been used in the war in Ukraine.

He also mentioned Poseidon, a new intercontinental nuclear-powered torpedo torpedo, and Burevestnik, a nuclear-powered nuclear-powered cruise missile.

It is clear that these weapon systems are an integral part of Russia's long-term strategy development, FOI stated in 2019.