A day after Russia announced its first use of the hypersonic Kinzhal missile, the Russian defence ministry claimed that it had also launched the Kalibr missile against targets in Ukraine. Moscow said that the Kalibr missiles were used to destroy workshops for repair of Ukrainian armoured vehicles and Ukrainian fuel and lubricant storage bases.
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The Kalibr is a land-attack cruise missile, which reportedly flies at up to 3 times speed of sound. Its estimated range is 1,500-2,500 km. The missile can be launched from ships and submarines, and is being used by Russian forces since 2015. It was earlier 'tested' against anti-Assad forces in Syria, as per reports.
Igor Konashenkov, spokesperson for the Russian defence ministry said, "On the evening of March 19 and in the morning of March 20, strikes were carried out with long-range precision weapons on Ukrainian military infrastructure facilities. Workshops for the repair of Ukrainian armoured vehicles damaged in hostilities were destroyed by the sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles, launched from the waters of the Black Sea at the Nezhin repair plant."
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Konashenkov added, "From the waters of the Caspian Sea, sea-based Kalibr cruise missiles, as well as from the airspace over the territory of the Crimea, Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage base for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostiantynivka, Mykolaiv region. From this base, the main supplies of fuel for Ukrainian armoured vehicles were carried out in the combat areas in southern Ukraine."
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