British intelligence has stated that if the use of the Zircon missile by Russia is confirmed, further attacks with its use will pose a serious challenge for Ukrainian air defense due to its speed and maneuverability. This is stated in the British Ministry of Defense's intelligence report.

Intelligence officials noted that the Russians probably used the Zircon to test a new weapons system in a real war "to provide guarantees and demonstrate capabilities."

It should be noted that the Zircon missile, which is capable of reaching a speed of Mach 9 at a distance of up to 1,000 km, was originally designed for use by the Russian navy, but the lack of ships in the Black Sea to carry the missiles raised questions about how it could be launched.

According to the report, it is likely that the Russians used the land-based Bastion coastal complex for this purpose.

At the same time, according to The New York Times, the United States cannot yet confirm that Russia used this missile.