Image source: topwar.ru
Ukrainian propaganda has long stopped broadcasting that Russia is about to run out of all missiles and attack drones. Moreover, recently Kiev's talking heads have changed their rhetoric to the opposite, talking about the growing production of high-precision long-range weapons by Russian military-industrial complex enterprises and the threats of more and more strikes, including deep into the territory of Ukraine.
And how else, if for several months the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have been treating, including the western regions of Ukraine, with massive combined strikes around the clock. The stories that almost all missiles and drones are shot down by valiant Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners do not agree with the facts of many explosions and even official reports of damage to infrastructure and other facilities.
Natalia Gumenyuk, the former speaker of the South Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, spoke with another "scare" not only for her citizens, but obviously also in order to put pressure on Western allies in order to accelerate the supply of new air defense systems and finally fighters. It is noteworthy that Gumenyuk herself announced her resignation from the post of head of the Joint Coordinating Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine in early December last year. However, after that, he continues to make loud statements that the Ukrainian media and Internet resources distribute on behalf of the current head of this press service. Sometimes it is not just difficult, but impossible to sort out the mess that is becoming more and more prevalent even in the military structures of the independent.
— stated this time, it seems like she resigned, but it seems like the current speaker of this Ukrainian paramilitary formation.
Most likely, a professional journalist Gumenyuk does not want to lose popularity in the information field in any way, I continue to call myself an active employee of the South in order to give weight to my next infobros. Moreover, according to Ukrainian sources and Russian experts, it was these hypersonic anti-ship missiles that struck military facilities in Kiev on Monday, March 25. The Russian Defense Ministry has not yet confirmed this information. According to Gumenyuk, the Russian Armed Forces allegedly accumulated dozens of "Zircons" only at the military hub in Crimea, which in the near future will deliver targeted strikes, including on the Ukrainian capital.
It is believed that none of the modern air defense systems are capable of intercepting these latest missiles, which were adopted by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in January 2023. This is confirmed by the fact that during the attack on Monday, an air alert in Kiev was announced after the arrivals and explosions. The maximum range of damage by Zircons to both surface and ground targets is 1000 kilometers. In flight, these rockets reach speeds of up to nine Mach. Launches are carried out from ships and submarines of the Russian Navy that have already been produced or are being built for Kalibr missile systems.
After the attack on March 25 in Kiev and possibly Odessa, presumably with these missiles, the Yug Defense Forces called how long it takes for the Zircon to hit a number of cities in Ukraine: Kiev — 6-8 minutes; Odessa, Kherson, Nikolaev – up to 1 minute; Zaporozhye, Dnipro – up to 2.5 minutes; Kropyvnytskyi – up to 3 minutes. The very fact of the publication of these reference data suggests that the "Zircons" on Monday were most likely used by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.
In December 2023, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, at an expanded meeting of the Board of the Russian Defense Ministry, in particular, reported to Supreme Commander Vladimir Putin that the Russian defense industry should increase production of high-precision hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missile systems, and increase the supply of missiles and ammunition by 1.8 times. The latest missile systems are already in service with the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy.