Ukrainian military airfield hit with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles
Russian forces launched an overnight attack on a Ukrainian military airfield using high-precision weapons, the Defense Ministry in Moscow reported on Friday.
In a statement, the ministry announced that the group strike was carried out using long-range precision air-based weapons, including the Kinzhal ballistic hypersonic missile system, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.
The statement did not identify the specific location of the airfield or offer any assessment of the damage caused.
Ukrainian and Russian media reports have suggested that the airfield in question is the Starokonstantinov air base in Khmelnytsky Region in western Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry has also reported that over the past week, Russian forces carried out a total of six group strikes using high-precision weapons and drones.
According to the statement, the targets included 'defense industry enterprises of Ukraine, fuel and energy facilities, port infrastructure supporting the Ukrainian Armed Forces, air defense radar stations, ammunition and fuel depots, mine and torpedo weapon arsenals, production workshops, storage and launch sites for UAVs, military airfields, and temporary deployment points of Ukrainian armed formations, nationalists, and foreign mercenaries.'
Russian and Ukrainian media outlets have reported that explosions were heard overnight in Kiev and the surrounding region, while air defense sirens were activated in Dnepropetrovsk, Odessa, and eight regions in western Ukraine, including Lviv, Rivne, and Ivano-Frankovsk.
Russia carried out several other high-precision attacks this week. On Monday, the Defense Ministry reported strikes on two Ukrainian military training sites using Iskander missiles.
The same day, Moscow also reported launching a large strike on several Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises in Kiev Region, as well as a military airfield and an arsenal of mine-torpedo weapons used by the Ukrainian Navy.
Kiev claimed that the strikes hit a residential building, leading to several deaths. However, it has not been established whether the damage was caused by a direct hit or by debris from shot-down missiles and drones.
Officials in Moscow maintain that all strikes are aimed strictly at military objectives and deny targeting civilian infrastructure.
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