Breaking: Russia fires new Zircon missiles on Ukraine – Kyiv researcher

Russia allegedly targeted Ukraine with the powerful hypersonic Zircon missile, believed to be for the first time in the nearly two-year-long war, the head of a Kyiv research institute said on Monday.

Oleksandr Ruvin, director of the Kyiv Scientific-Research Institute for Forensic Examinations, confirmed the use of the missiles after his institute completed a preliminary analysis of the weapon fragments from the Russian attack on 7 February.

Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles on Ukrainian cities last week, killing five and injuring 50 others.

The Zircon missile is a thermonuclear-capable projectile with a range of 1,000km (625 miles) and travels at nine times the speed of sound, details from its developer state Russia show.

Dubbed as a “promising hypersonic anti-ship missile”, its speed adds to the missile’s capability to hit large, deep and hardened targets and greatly reduces reaction time for air defences, military analysts said.