Targeted intimidation of Ukrainians and Westerners or an attempt to assert their strength in front of their population after the Ukrainian attack in Makiivka that killed almost a hundred people? On Wednesday, during a video conference, Vladimir Putin announced the mass production of the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile and the departure of the Admiral Gorchkov frigate equipped with this weapon.
This experimental missile is still in the testing phase by the Russian Navy since 2020. It would reach the speed of Mach 9 with a range of 1,000 kilometers. In October 2020 tests have been carried out in the Russian Arctic from the Gorchkov frigate, but also from a submerged submarine.
show of force
But now, it is no longer a test but the first operational deployment of this cruise system. During the video conference, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Gorchkov frigate will sail in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, as well as the Mediterranean Sea.
Whether Russia’s strike force is real, experts question the actual effectiveness of the Zircon missiles and the Kremlin’s announcement of so many details. For Colonel Michel Goya, a defense expert at BFMTV, “they will not be used in the war in Ukraine.”
Dispute in Russia
Since the Ukrainian attack on Makiivka which, according to the latest report, left 89 dead, the Russian military command has faced strong opposition in Russia. The killed soldiers are recruits from the same region. According to various sources, the building where they were staying was close to an ammunition depot.
According to Russian General Sergei Sevrioukov, the “main cause” of the attack was “the massive use of mobile phones by personnel” despite the ban, which allowed Ukrainian forces to geolocate this concentration of Russian soldiers for this attack carried out. with US-supplied Himars missile launchers. This explanation creates a lively controversy in Russia.
“It is not the cell phones and their owners that are to blame, but the banal negligence of the commanders, who I am sure did not even try to relocate the personnel outside the building,” the group criticized. Telegram, which has 200,000 subscribers.
Source: BFM TV
