"It does not fulfill the combat mission": Ukrainian laboratory points to Russia's failure with the Zircon missile

TheTsirkon missiles used by Russia during the attacks on Kyiv on February 7 and March 25 do not fulfill their intended combat mission. The warhead of this missile "cannot be compared" with missiles such as the Kh-101 or Kh-22.

This was stated by Andrii Kulchytskyi, Head of the Military Research Laboratory of Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise (Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise) in a commentary to Suspilne. In addition, he noted that these missiles do not fly in the right direction.

"This missile does not fulfill its combat mission. Everything that is charged, all the characteristics of "super", "hyper" - all these are words, but in reality, the missile is still a long way from combat use. It flies in the wrong direction, does not do the job it is designed to do," Kulchytsky said.

The expert noted that Ukrainian air defense can shoot down these missiles. He claims that one of the fragments of the missile that was hit on March 25 clearly shows traces of the Patriot system.

Kulchytsky added that the warhead of the Zircon contains no more than 40 kilograms of explosives.

"We are still conducting analyzes to determine what kind of substance is there. But the warhead is small: it cannot be compared to the warhead of such missiles as Kh-101 and Kh-22," he said.

As reported by OBOZ.UA, at least two strikes have been made on the territory of Ukraine since the beginning of 2024 with 3M22 Zircon missiles. The first one occurred (and the remains of the missile were found) on the night of February 7 in the Dniprovskyi district of Kyiv near a destroyed power line, and the second strike took place on March 25.

Earlier it was reported that the Russian occupation army is looking for ways to launch new air attacks on Ukraine, in particular, using Zircon missiles. The enemy is trying to shell the country from unexpected directions, using weapons that should complicate the work of air defense.

Only verified information is available on the OBOZ.UA Telegram channel and Viber. Do not fall for fakes!