Putin confirms Russian army's use of Zircon missile in Ukraine strike

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin during an address to the Federal Assembly confirmed that the Russian army has already struck Ukraine with an experimental Zircon missile, Russian propaganda agency RIA Novosti reported on Feb. 29.

“The Zircon sea-based hypersonic strike system has already been used in the battle, and this system is already in service,” Putin said.

Read also: Russian Defense Ministry orders additional batch of hypersonic missiles, Russian media report

After Russia’s extensive missile strike on Ukraine on Feb. 7, the Defense Express military portal reported that Russia may have utilized a new ZM22 Zircon missile during the attack. The portal cited corresponding photos as evidence that Russia targeted Kyiv with these missiles. One of the images of the wreckage displays a 3M22 marking, resembling the specific missile designation.

On Feb. 21, Oleksandr Ruvin, director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, stated that Russians had employed Zircon missiles in at least two strikes on Ukrainian territory. He noted that both incidents targeted Kyiv Oblast during the large-scale Russian missile attack on Feb. 7.

Previously, British Defense Ministry intelligence indicated that the Zircon missile, capable of reaching Mach 9 (6,900 mph) at distances of up to 1,000 km (621 miles), was initially designed for deployment by the Russian navy. However, the absence of ships in the Black Sea capable of carrying these missiles raised questions about their launch mechanism. According to the British intelligence agency, the Russians may have utilized a land-based Bastion coastal missile system.

Read also: Russia fires 8,000 missiles at Ukraine over two years – Ukrainian Air Force

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