In response, a group of members of Congress demanded that the US president send American submarines to the Mediterranean, to the Far East, and to the coasts of Russia and the Northern Ocean, according to the “Russia Today” website.“.
russian monster
The hypersonic Russian “Zirkon” missile is capable of flying at Mach 9 (a unit of sound speed), equivalent to about 7,000 miles per hour, or about 10,000 km / h..
This means that it is impossible to intercept it in any case, and the range of the Russian “Zirkon” has reached 620 miles, or 1,000 kilometers..
And if it is used by a submarine or a warship, its range can reach the United States and NATO countries.
As for the coastal “Zirkon” batteries, they are able to open a powerful parachute over Crimea and the Baltic region in cooperation with “S-300” and “S-400” surface-to-air missiles.“.
And recently, the Russian frigate “Admiral Gorshkov” successfully launched a missile from Tsirkon, at a land target, on the coast of the Barents Sea, northeastern Norway and the European part of Russia.
And he was able to hit the target directly, from a distance of more than 350 km, according to a statement issued at the time by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
At that time, military reports described the new Russian missile as a “monster”. Due to its enormous maneuverability and being a winged missile capable of reaching speeds that other air defense systems around the world do not possess..
Putin threatens
On December 24, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the successful tests of this promising missile.
At that time, Putin threatened, if America deployed medium-range nuclear weapons in Europe, to deploy “supersonic missiles” on Russian ships and submarines..
Putin also warned the United States of a Russian military response to the US military support for Ukraine, saying: “The United States does not have hypersonic weapons yet, but we know when they will have them. This is something that cannot be hidden, and one day they will hand them over to Ukraine.”“.
For his part, the Russian military expert, Konstantin Sivkov, said: The maximum speed of the world’s first hypersonic missile, Tsirkon, was about Mach 9, according to the Russian “Sputnik” agency..
He noted that the advantage of the Russian hypersonic weapon lies not in the ability to fly at many times the speed of sound, but in that it can maneuver and evade existing missile defense systems..
Maneuvers in all fleets
On January 20, the Russian army announced that its fleets would engage in large-scale war games during January and February, at a time when the crisis with Ukraine was escalating..
The Russian Navy stated that the maneuvers will include about 140 warships and 60 combat aircraft, along with more than 10,000 military personnel.
Moscow says: The main purpose of these maneuvers is to improve the capabilities of the naval and air forces to protect Russian interests in the global ocean.
She added that the mission of the second maneuvers is to “confront the military threats facing Russia in the sea and the ocean.”“.
Here, a researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Maxim Aleshin, points out that the current maneuvers of Russian nuclear submarines are of an exhibition nature..
“This missile has not yet entered service, but it is a matter of a year or two,” he says“.
He adds: “It is a message to the Americans that submarines armed with Tsircon missiles can be found regularly off the coast of the United States very soon.”“.
Aleshin said that “the characteristics of “Zirkon” prevent it from being dropped from air defense systems. This is an anti-ship missile, but it can target land sites, and nothing prevents it from being equipped with a nuclear warhead.”“.
And he adds: “A submarine armed with a Psirkon, traveling near New York, is a nightmare for the United States, and in principle, Russian nuclear submarines can be there permanently, and take turns sailing there.“.
According to Aleshin, Russia does not threaten in this way, but rather calls on the United States to “discuss in detail the issues of spheres of influence,” and that “this is a continuation of the discussion about red lines.”“.
And he added, “But from under the water there are Russian messages saying: If Ukraine becomes a member of NATO, our nuclear submarines will always be near your shores, think about it.”“.
Russia denies planning an attack and demands pledges that Ukraine will never join NATO, a halt to the deployment of NATO weapons near Russia’s borders, and the withdrawal of NATO forces from Eastern Europe..
NATO and the United States describe these demands as unrealistic.
In anticipation of the upcoming call between the foreign ministers of Russia and the United States, Moscow confirmed, on Tuesday, that it will not back down in the face of threats to impose US sanctions on it..
Since the end of last year, Kiev and its Western allies have accused Russia of mobilizing up to 100,000 soldiers on its western border (with Ukraine) in preparation for its invasion..
US President Joe Biden has long warned his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of a broad and coordinated response from Western sanctions in the event of a Russian invasion of Ukraine..