Russia can detect any opponent and deliver an unavoidable blow if necessary, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who spoke at a Navy Day ceremony in St. Petersburg attended by almost 4,000 troops and more than 50 warships, including a Borey-A nuclear submarine equipped with ballistic missiles.
Putin stated, "Today, the Russian Navy has everything it needs to guarantee the protection of its native country, our national interests,"
Putin said that Russia has "has taken its rightful place among the leading maritime powers" and has "the latest systems of hypersonic high-precision weapons" which have no counterparts in the world and are "constantly and successfully" improving. He spoke in front of a monument to Peter the Great, the founder of the Russian Navy.
"We are able to detect any underwater, surface, air enemy and inflict an inevitable blow on him, if necessary," Putin stated.
The Russian Defense Ministry announced successful tests of Zircon hypersonic nuclear missiles, one of the five types of "super-weapons" presented by Putin during his address to the Federal Assembly in 2018. Three days before the start of the "grandiose" parade, according to Putin, which took place without spectators due to the surge of COVID-19 cases, the Russian Defense Ministry announced successful tests of Zircon hypersonic nuclear missiles, one of the five types of "super-weapons"
At a distance of more than 350 kilometers, a missile fired from the frigate Admiral Gorshkov in the White Sea hit a ground target located on the shore of the Barents Sea at a speed seven times faster than the speed of sound.
The tests "confirmed all tactical and technical characteristics of the Zircon missile," according to the Defense Ministry.
"new hypersonic missiles significantly destabilize the situation and pose significant risks to security and stability in the entire Euro-Atlantic region," NATO said in response to the Russian testing.
According to NATO, the appearance of new types of weapons "increases the risk of escalation and miscalculations" on the part of the Russian leadership.
Without making further steps to respond to what Moscow is doing, NATO remains "committed to a measured response to Russia's growing arsenal of conventional and nuclear missiles"
