Russia says it has deployed Kinzhal hypersonic missile three times in Ukraine

FILE PHOTO: A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet equipped with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile flies over Red Square during a rehearsal for a flypast, part of a military parade marking the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, in central Moscow, Russia May 7, 2022. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has deployed hypersonic Kinzhal (Dagger) missiles three times over the course of what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Sunday.

The Kinzhal missiles are part of an array of new hypersonic weapons President Vladimir Putin presented in 2018 in a bellicose speech in which he said they could hit almost any point in the world and evade a U.S.-built missile shield.