The British press was shocked by the video released by the Russians showing the launch of a supersonic Zircon nuclear missile, with the Sun reporting that it “could blow London to smithereens in 5 minutes“.

The Russian Ministry of Defence has published a video which can also be seen as a message to the West and which is along the lines of “if you get involved in the war with Ukraine you will experience situations you have never imagined“. Like that message from Vladimir Putin on the evening of the announcement of the Russian intervention in Ukraine.

The video was released by Russia‘s TV Zvezda channel, which belongs to the Russian Ministry of Defence. A video about the “secret features of the Russian Zircon supersonic nuclear missile“.

Footage edited from various shots shows the “unstoppable” 9 Mach Zircon missile being launched from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in the White Sea. Zircon was rushed into operation this year, with Russia‘s own president even referring to “successful tests. This is a great event for our country, an important step for improving Russia‘s security, for increasing our defence capacity. ”

“You will understand the launch after it has hit you”
Russian experts say that the West does not have such a missile: “The speed of the Zircon supersonic missile is so high that it prevents the opponent‘s air defence system from detecting its impact in time. In fact, its launch will be known only after the target has been hit,” the Russian sources say.

The Zircon rocket also has a “variable trajectory” to avoid detection: “No one will see the rocket launch or its flight. They will see him only when the missile hits the target,” said the frigate‘s commander, First Commander Igor Krokhmal.

While the video has only just been released, many believe it dates back to last December and was probably deliberately held back for later release, possibly to serve Moscow‘s propaganda purposes.

The Zircon missile was “hailed” by Moscow‘s state-controlled television as Putin‘s “weapon of choice” with which he could wipe out American cities in the event of a nuclear conflict.