The hypersonic missiles that Russia claims to have used to destroy military targets in Ukraine “do not change much” the course of the war in the face of the resistance of the neighboring country's forces, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Sunday.
“I don't see them as revolutionary (weapons),” Austin told US television channel CBS, while refusing to “confirm or deny” that Moscow used this type of missile.
Russia claimed on Sunday, for the second consecutive day, that it had used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine. It would be the first known use in real combat conditions of this system first tested in 2018.
By using such weapons, Russia is “trying to regain momentum” in the conflict in which its army has been bogged down, Austin said.
“We have seen (the Russians) deliberately attack towns and civilians in recent weeks (...) that's because the offensive is blocked,” he said.
Russian troops “are not being effective in their movements on the ground, they are being blocked” by Ukrainian fighters “who are fighting bravely and who remain determined to defend their country,” he added.
Russian President Vladimir Putin “sent his troops to the crusher,” argued the head of the Pentagon. Ukrainians are “very effective with the weaponry we gave them”, such as anti-tank and anti-tank defense systems.
Austin warned Russia against the use of chemical or biological weapons in the conflict. If they were to be used, he said, there would be “a significant reaction not only from the United States but also from the international community.”
Moscow, which accuses Washington and Kiev of operating laboratories aimed at producing internationally prohibited biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine, intends to “make a pretext so that if they (the Russians) do something on the battlefield they can blame others, Ukrainians, us, NATO,” he said.
The hierarch also refused to confirm the presence of mercenaries with the Russian troops. “We haven't seen any mercenaries on the battlefield,” said the retired general.
According to a Syrian NGO, more than 40,000 Syrian army fighters and allied militias have enlisted to fight alongside Russia in Ukraine.
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