Biden: Russia’s Hypersonic Missiles ‘Consequential’ and ‘Almost Impossible to Stop’

President Joe Biden speaks about Ukraine in the South Court Auditorium of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House on March 16, 2022. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

President Joe Biden deemed Russia’s alleged firing of hypersonic missiles in the Ukraine conflict earlier this week as a “consequential” move.

“If you notice, they’ve just launched their hypersonic missile [in Ukraine], because it’s the only thing that they can get through with absolute certainty. It’s–as you all know, it’s a consequential weapon,” Biden remarked this week, adding that “it’s almost impossible to stop it. There’s a reason they’re using it.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense claimed its military used hypersonic missiles against an ammunition warehouse and a fuel depot in Ukraine, making it possibly the first time such a weapon has been used in combat to date.

However, other White House officials downplayed the development as a diversionary tactic.

“I would not see it as a game-changer,” Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin told CBS News this week. “I think the reason he is resorting to using these types of weapons is because he is trying to reestablish some momentum. And again, we’ve seen him attack towns and cities and civilians outright, [and] we expect to see that continue.”

Meanwhile, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Monday that it’s not clear if Moscow actually used hypersonic missiles, which are said to travel many times the speed of sound, in the conflict.

“Look, we’ve seen the Russian claim that they used a hypersonic missile,” he told reporters. “We’re not in a position to refute that claim, but we’re also not able to independently verify it.”

Russia’s Ministry of Defense asserted that Moscow’s forces used Kinzhal missiles last Friday and Saturday in south-central and western Ukraine.

“Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region,” the ministry said in a statement.

Biden, meanwhile, embarks Wednesday on a four-day trip that will test his ability to navigate the continent’s worst crisis since WWII ended in 1945. Biden also expressed fears that Russia could use chemical or nuclear weapons as its invasion becomes bogged down in the face of logistical problems and fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, said the president would coordinate with allies on military assistance for Ukraine and new sanctions on Russia.

“This war will not end easily or rapidly,” Sullivan told reporters at a White House briefing on Tuesday. “For the past few months, the West has been united. The president is traveling to Europe to make sure we stay united.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.