Ukraine was hit with "Zircon" - Putin admitted

The President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, in his message to the Federal Assembly - the Russian Parliament, stated that the Russian troops had already tested the hypersonic Zircon missile on the battlefield, again accused the West and the USA of provoking a conflict with Russia and warned against its development into a nuclear one.

Putin started his traditional address 15 minutes late, it lasted more than two hours.

He announced a moment of silence for the dead "our heroes on the front lines", "in the trenches" and spoke about "all-Russian support for the SVO" (this is how Russia calls the war against Ukraine. - Ed.).

And although the entire first part of his speech was devoted to the war against Ukraine, he practically did not mention Ukraine, conducting an absentee dialogue exclusively with the West.

What Putin said about the front

He devoted a large part of his speech to Russia's "achievements" on the battlefield.

"The protection and strengthening of sovereignty is going in all directions, and first of all at the front... Our armed forces have gained tremendous combat experience," the Russian leader said.

In particular, he mentioned the following:

"Strategic nuclear forces are in a state of full readiness. The "Kinzhal" hypersonic aviation complex is not only put into service, but also used with high efficiency... The "Zirkon" sea-based hypersonic shock complex has already been used in battle.

Earlier in Ukraine, it was claimed that the newest hypersonic cruise missile "Zircon" was used by the Russians during a missile attack on Ukraine on February 7.

Then debris from one of the rockets damaged underground power lines and tram tracks in Kyiv.

Markings on these wreckages aroused special interest in Ukraine at that time.

"We drew attention to the atypical trajectory of one missile during the morning attack. It was launched from Crimea and landed in the Kyiv region... Previously, it was a promising ZM22 "Zirkon" hypersonic cruise missile launched from a universal vertical launch container," wrote the authors of the Monitor channel.

And they added that the rocket's flight is similar to a hybrid of "Dagger" and "Onyx".

On February 12, the director of the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Examinations Oleksandr Ruvin reported that during the attack on Kyiv on February 7, 2024, according to preliminary information, Russia did indeed use the 3M22 Zircon missile.

3M22 "Zirkon" was developed as a hypersonic anti-ship cruise missile, with which the Russians plan to rearm part of their fleet.

The development of these missiles became known several years ago, and in 2019, Putin claimed that the Zircon can hit both sea and land targets at a distance of more than 1,000 km and accelerate to Mach 9.

At the same time, during the recent attack on Kyiv, a then-unknown missile from Crimea, according to the Monitor channel, never crossed the hypersonic speed limit.

Nuclear threats

Having once again started an absentee discussion with the West, Putin repeated once again that "we did not start this war in Donbas, but we will do everything to end it, to eradicate Nazism."

Accusing the US of "openly hostile actions", he declared:

"This is a state (USA - Ed .), which, as they themselves say, is trying to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia on the battlefield."

"Now, without any shame, they declare that Russia is planning to attack Europe. But it's just a delusion! And at the same time, they themselves choose the targets on our territory and, as they think, the most effective means of defeat."

It was in this context that Putin spoke about the possibility of a nuclear conflict.

"They should understand that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory... Everything they invent, what they scare, all this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons, which means the destruction of civilization. What, they don't understand this?!"

At the same time, he stated that Russia is "ready for a dialogue" with the USA "on issues of strategic stability", which would be conducted "comprehensively" and outline the "security contours in Eurasia".

Macron's answer?

In the same context, Putin threatened "tragic consequences" if NATO military contingents were sent to Ukraine. He called foreign military personnel on the territory of Ukraine "possible intervenors."

"We talked about the possibility of sending NATO military contingents to Ukraine. We remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to the territory of our country. Now the consequences for possible interventionists will be much more tragic," said Putin, speaking with a message to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation.

Apparently, Putin was referring to the statement of French President Emmanuel Macron, who recently said that sending Western ground troops to Ukraine is not excluded in order to defeat Russia.

Subsequently, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejournay clarified that Western countries can send troops to Ukraine without "crossing the threshold of war."

But soon the White House and European leaders announced that they did not plan to send troops to Ukraine.

Putin traditionally devoted the next two-thirds of his speech to internal Russian issues - economy, demography and social problems.