RUSSIA'S military has built terrifying 'exoskeleton' suits for soldiers to wear on the battlefield which could be deployed in Ukraine.

The high-tech Iron Man-style outfits give the wearer super-strength, deadly accuracy from distance, and the ability to run faster and for longer over difficult terrain.

Russia has been quietly working on the exo-suits for years, and could be preparing to introduce them in the conflict in Ukraine, the Daily Star reports.

The Russian army previously trialled the so-called "active powered" exoskeletons, which can be strapped to soldiers to give them android-like powers.

They are designed to augment and enhance the abilities of the wearer.

Its advantages include increased strength, deadly accuracy even from distance, faster speed, battery power to aid endurance, and preventing injuries.

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They can help soldiers carry far heavier loads and even give machine guns deadly accuracy over long distances.

A battery-powered motor allows troops to cover huge distances over flat terrain.

Its inbuilt hydraulics system also gives troops the strength to carry huge loads for longer.

Similar unpowered suits are already being used in the car-making industry, as they reduce muscle strain on workers, reportedly decreasing the number of back and shoulder injuries and improving efficiency.

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At the same time, its titanium shell keeps it lightweight, so trops can still cover ground quickly.

Oleg Faustov, from Russian Army defence contractor TsNiiTochMash, bragged the suits will make ordinary human soldiers even deadlier.

"We have already held trials for the prototype of the active exoskeleton," he told state news agency TASS.

"It really enhances a serviceman's physical abilities. For example, the tester was able to shoot from a machine-gun with only one hand and accurately hit targets."

It comes as…

• Russia has lost a fifth top general in fighting near Kherson, in a further blow to Putin's forces
• Putin held a huge military rally in Moscow, but it was mysteriously cut off during the president's speech
• Russian troops' morale is "collapsing", according to a UK military expert
• Hundreds are still feared trapped under the ruins of a theatre in Mariupol bombed by Russian forces
• Video captured the moment Ukrainian laser-guided missiles blew up Russian tanks
• An increasingly-paranoid Putin is said to fear he will be "poisoned" as he purges his staff

In trials last year, Russia's Rostec state corporation claimed the "Iron Man" suits had proven "very effective" in operations in Syria.

"Apart from increasing capabilities of a soldier, it increases the combat potential of an entire unit," it told Russian state media organisation Sputnik.

"The tactical use experience speaks to that as well. There are sappers units equipped with passive exoskeletons operating in Syria."

Russian scientists hope to perfect their design by 2025, claiming they want to make it stronger and faster.

Russia has also developed unpowered "Ratnik" combat suits were built by the Central Research Institute for Precision Machine Building.

This has the advantage of avoiding one of the exo-suit's major flaws.

If the battery runs out, the exhausted user could be left stranded and unable to continue moving until a replacement is found.

DEADLY ARSENAL

It comes as Russia claims it has deployed its "unstoppable" hypersonic missiles in Ukraine for the first time.

Video captures the dramatic moment the missile destroys an ammunition depot in the west of Ukraine.

Moscow claims its 'Kinzhal' – or Dagger – weapon is "unstoppable" by current Western weapons.

The video reportedly filmed from a military drone shows the moment a large Ukrainian ammunition depot in Ivano-Frankivsk was hit by a deadly Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile.

Russia's defense ministry said: “The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition in the village of Deliatyn in the Ivano-Frankivsk region."

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It is the first known time the new Kinzhal has been used in the conflict but it was earlier "tested" in Syria in war conditions.

President Putin earlier branded the missile "an ideal weapon" that flies at 10 times the speed of sound and cannot be brought down by conventional air-defence systems.

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