On January 20, Russia launched another mass attack on Ukraine, this time using the hypersonic Zircon and training missiles designed to overload Ukrainian air defenses. Military expert Andriy Kramarov said on Radio NV that the main strike again targeted the energy infrastructure of Kyiv and the surrounding region.
In his view, Russia’s latest attacks don’t amount to a fundamentally new tactic, but they show a clear focus on destroying critical energy infrastructure in the capital. For more than a month, the occupiers have been trying to hit key facilities, including the CHP-5 and CHP-6 thermal power plants, as well as large transformer substations in Kyiv and the region.
According to the expert, the strikes are being carried out mainly with missiles—both cruise, such as the Kh-101, and ballistic. Strike drones, particularly Shaheds, play a supporting role, adding pressure on air defenses and affecting civilians, but they are not a serious threat to well-protected sites. What set the latest attack apart was the use of the RM-48U missile.
“RM-48U is essentially a training missile created by converting S-300 and S-400 surface-to-air missiles. This practice dates back to the Soviet era, starting with the S-200 systems, when special target missiles were used during exercises to test interception against targets with characteristics close to ballistic,” he said.
He clarified that these launches use S-300 and S-400 missiles that have reached the end of their service life. Their warheads are removed and they’re refueled, turning them into decoys. Such missiles don’t follow a full ballistic trajectory, but debris from these attacks has already been found on Ukrainian territory.
The expert said Russia launches them in parallel with ballistic missiles, primarily Iskander-Ms. This complicates the work of Ukrainian air defenses, forcing them to engage more targets and expend ammunition. It also suggests some S-300 missiles in Russia have exhausted their service life and cannot be fully restored.
Kramarov added that Ukraine recently replenished its stock of air defense missiles, which helped repel the latest attack.
“Just a few days ago these assets entered service, and we were able to replenish our missile stocks—which were critically needed during this attack. It’s precisely to deplete our ammunition, especially for Patriot systems, that the Russians began using so-called false ballistic targets,” the military expert said.
As for the hypersonic Zircon, Kramarov explained it’s a naval missile launched from the same tubes as Kalibrs. During the latest attack, one launch was recorded toward Vinnytsia over a long distance. He said Zircon is still in limited production and has not become a fully fielded weapon in Russia’s arsenal. Overall, such launches effectively serve as combat trials—testing the missile’s accuracy and performance at long ranges that may reach 800–1,000 kilometers.
Even so, Kramarov stressed that unlike Kinzhal, Russia does not have mass production of Zircon, limiting its routine use.
“Russia is trying to test this missile’s combat capabilities and accuracy at maximum ranges. At the same time, unlike Kinzhal, there is still no full-scale serial production of this missile in Russia, and it has not been fully adopted into service,” the expert said on air.
Also today, analysts at Defence Express wrote that for the first time in a long while, Russia used a hypersonic Zircon from Crimea, aiming it at Vinnytsia.
In addition, answering a reporter’s question, Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine used €80 million worth of air defense missiles in an effort to shoot down Russian weapons during today’s attack.
