The Russian fleet will acquire “in the coming months” a new Zircon hypersonic cruise missile that “knows no obstacles,” President Vladimir Putin announced on Sunday, amid the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
The Russian fleet “is capable of inflicting a lightning response on all those who decide to undermine our sovereignty and freedom,” said Vladimir Putin, during a naval parade in St. Petersburg (northwest), stressing that its military equipment “is subject to continuous improvement” .
He cited in particular the “ultra-modern Zircon hypersonic missiles that know no obstacles”. “Their handover to the Russian armed forces will begin in the coming months,” Vladimir Putin said.
Trials since 2020
With a maximum range of around a thousand kilometers, Zircon cruise missiles belong to a family of new weapons developed by Russia and described by Vladimir Putin as “invincible”. His trials have been running since October 2020.
According to Vladimir Putin, the Admiral Gorchkov frigate will be the first Russian ship to be equipped with these missiles, while the deployment area of this ship will be chosen in accordance with “Russia’s security interests.”
“The motherland is a sacred notion for all of us, and defending it is a duty and the meaning of life for each of us,” added the Kremlin master.
Six injured in drone attack
Vladimir Putin on Sunday oversaw the naval parade in St. Petersburg, which brought together more than 40 ships and submarines and about 3,500 military personnel in this former imperial capital on the occasion of the Day of the Russian Fleet, widely celebrated around the world.
However, in Sevastopol, in Russian-annexed Crimea, the festivities were called off after a drone strike targeted Russian Black Sea Fleet personnel on Sunday morning, injuring six.
Local authorities blamed the attack on “Ukrainian nationalists” as Russia faces a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kherson region, located not far from Crimea, but Ukraine has denied involvement in this attack.
Source: BFM TV
