(MENAFN) Ukraine alleges it possesses evidence indicating that Russia deployed an advanced hypersonic missile, which experts consider extremely difficult to intercept, for the first time in the nearly two-year-long conflict.
As stated in a post on Telegram from the government-run Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, debris recovered following an attack on the Ukrainian capital on February 7 suggests the involvement of a Zircon hypersonic cruise missile launched by the Russian military.
The institute, which operates under Ukraine’s Justice Ministry, points out that “markings on the parts and fragments, the identification of components and parts, and the features of the relevant type of weapon” consistent with the Zircon missile, indicate its inaugural use in combat.
Accompanying the Telegram post was a video displaying numerous pieces of debris believed to originate from the newly purported missile.
Ukrainian authorities reported that four individuals were killed as well as 38 others injured in Kyiv during the February 7 attacks; however, no casualties have been directly linked to the alleged Zircon missile.
There was no mention of the launch platform for the missile in the reports. However, previous accounts in Russian state media suggest that the Zircon missile has been deployed on a warship.
Experts assert that the Zircon, if it aligns with the descriptions provided by the Russian government, represents a formidable weapon. Its hypersonic velocity renders it impervious to even the most sophisticated Western missile defenses, such as the Patriot, according to assessments by the United States-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA).
The alliance indicates that the missile's speed reaches Mach 8, equivalent to nearly 9,900 kilometers per hour (or 6,138 mph). Hypersonic speed is characterized as any velocity surpassing Mach 5, which is approximately 3,836 mph.
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