Russia has used five of them its new Zircon supersonic missiles to attack Kiev from the beginning of the year, announced the military administration of the Ukrainian capital.

The attacks are among more than 180 Russian missile or drone attacks against Kiev in the first three months of 2024, according to a statement by the administration on Telegram.

The Zircon sea-to-surface missiles have a range of 1,000 km, and travel at nine times the speed of sound, according to Moscow. According to military analysts, the supersonic speed of Zircon can mean greatly reducing the reactivity of air defense systems and the ability to hit large targets at depth.

Vladimir Putin confirmed during his annual address on February 29 that Russia had used Zircon missiles in Ukraine, without specifying what kind of targets were hit. It included these missiles in a new generation”unrivaled weapons systems”.

The Kyiv administration also announced that since the beginning of 2024, the city has also been hit by six other types of missiles, among them the Kh-101, an air-to-surface cruise missile (113 have been launched to date). Russia also launched 11 Kinzhal missiles, another hypersonic weapon system, against the Ukrainian capital this year.