Putin confirms use of Zircon hypersonic missiles in Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin confirms the use of Zircon hypersonic missiles against Ukrainian targets.

He stated this in a live broadcast of the Federal Assembly.

According to him, the Russian forces are using hypersonic weapons to hit “especially important targets.” He referred to the Kinzhal airborne missile system and the Zircon hypersonic missile.

“Our plans in the field of armaments, which I talked about in 2018, have been completed or are in the final stages. The Kinzhal airborne missile system has not only entered service but is also being used with high efficiency in the war.

The Zircon hypersonic system, which was not even discussed in 2018, has also been used in the battle. However, this system is already in service,” Putin said.

These words confirm the conclusions of experts from the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, who verified the wreckage of an unknown missile found in Kyiv as 3M22 Zircon.

Experts said that Russian missiles have parts that can be used in several types of products at once, while others are components for specific models only. In this case, elements were found that are specific to the 3M22 Zircon missile.

Wreckage and specific markings have parts and fragments of the jet engine and control surfaces.

Experts note that some of the markings indicate the date of production of its parts – the end of 2023 – beginning of 2024. This means that the missile was recently assembled.

This conclusion correlates with the statement that, despite Putin’s statements, the Zircon missile has not yet been adopted in Russia. Alexander Leonov, CEO of NPO Mashinostroyeniya, stated this at the end of January.

“The Zircon hypersonic missiles need to be operated for some time before being put into service, and this is a slow procedure. There is no order from the Defense Minister to put them into service today,” Leonov said.

It is worth noting that the missile found in Kyiv was fired from the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. Given that there are no carriers of such weapons in the Black Sea, we can confidently assume that ground-based launchers were used.