During the missile attack on February 7, Russia allegedly tried to use its ZM22 Zircon "hypersonic" missile to hit targets in Kyiv. According to Defense Express, this is evidenced by photos that appeared online with posts about its downing, UNN reports.
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According to Defense Express, one of the fragments in particular bears the marking "3M22," which corresponds to this particular missile.
"Given that these fragments are "tied" to the place where the missile fell in the Dnipro district and it is unlikely that the power line was the target of the Zircon, it was still hit. At the same time, the Air Force Command's report lists only X-555/101 and Kalibr cruise missiles among the intercepted missiles," the statement said.
The Air Force officially reported at 07:46 that a high-speed missile was approaching Kyiv as part of a threat alert.
Defense Express spoke to its own sources for clarification. And according to the information received, the fragmentation of the missile is quite strong, which makes it difficult to identify. This is compounded by the lack of information on the ZM22 Zircon that has not been publicly displayed.
As noted by Defense Express , the status of this missile in Russia is uncertain, and it is sometimes announced as adopted, and then it turns out that there is no corresponding order.
However, as Defense Express has learned, the wreckage found today corresponds to the wreckage of another unidentified missile that the enemy used earlier this year, which was also assumed to be a Zircon. It is therefore quite possible that this is not the first time the enemy has used this missile today.
As for the ZM22 "Zircon", Defense Express reminds that in Russia it is called "hypersonic", although, most likely, it, like the X-47 "Kinzhal", is a solid-fuel missile, that is, it simply accelerates to a significant speed, allegedly up to Mach 9. The range of its launch is more often mentioned as 600 kilometers, although sometimes 1000 kilometers are declared.
It should be noted that the information that Russia attacked Kyiv with a Zircon missile has not been officially confirmed.
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Today, experts from Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise worked at the sites in the capital of Ukraine that were damaged by the morning missile attack by the Russian Federation. According to Oleksandr Ruvin, Director of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, some fragments were recovered that have markings and special characteristics.
"We are inspecting the damage, recording all the circumstances and collecting parts and fragments of Russian missiles for their further identification and analysis. Some of the objects of research found in connection with this night attack have markings and special characteristics. This will help to quickly investigate and provide law enforcement agencies with all possible information," Ruvin said.