Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Wednesday deployed a warship armed with new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles on a mission to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
The move was seen by several analysts as a warning aimed at the West against escalating the war in Ukraine.
The announcement of the frigate which bears the name "Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov", was made by Putin himself in a televised conference call with his defense minister, Sergei Shoigu.
Amid the Kremlin's repeated warnings to the West not to get more deeply involved in Ukraine, Team Biden has authorized U.S. Patriot anti-air defense systems to be transferred to Kiev.
Team Biden insists that no American troops will be manning the Patriot batteries in Ukraine, but that it will take some time, at least six months, for Ukrainian personnel to be trained on the system's operation.
Along with Shoigu, Putin on Wednesday addressed Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate and reminded him the ship while its mission will be armed with Zircon hypersonic missiles.
"This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system – 'Zircon' – which has no analogs," Putin said. "I would like to wish the crew of the ship success in their service for the good of the Motherland."
The ship is expected to also enter the Mediterranean Sea at some point while on its Atlantic mission, though the timeline of the voyage remains unclear.
"This ship, armed with 'Zircons', is capable of delivering pinpoint and powerful strikes against the enemy at sea and on land," Shoigu said. The defense chief also claimed the Zircon is undefeatable as it is able to evade any anti-air defense system in the world due to its purported ability to fly at nine times the speed of sound.
According to The Telegraph, the Russian frigate has already made its way into the Atlantic, based on the publication's Wednesday reporting that "a warship armed with new hypersonic cruise missiles on a training mission [went] past Britain to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean."
All of this follows last year's test launches of Sarmat – an intercontinental missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The launches were confirmed in highly publicized videos.
Here is the test launch of Sarmat, dubbed as the world’s longest range ballistic missile pic.twitter.com/LbHy9SW1IG
— Ragıp Soylu (@ragipsoylu) April 20, 2022
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