Originally Posted by
anxiao
Article behind "The Times" paywall.
Odd, usually the links work. It is quite a lengthy article, broken up by photos, diagrams, adverts etc so a bit of a pain to separate out the text - hence posting the link. Anyway, here's more:-
The Russian defence ministry said Zircon missiles had been tested by computer simulation and that they had “destroyed” a target over 500 miles away.
It is not thought that any missiles were launched by the Admiral Gorshkov, but videos released by Russian media showed the vessel’s missile bays opening while crew members simulated a launch sequence. Russia last test-fired a Zircon missile in May in the Barents Sea.
This month the frigate was escorted through British waters by the Royal Navy, and then by French and Spanish ships through the Atlantic.
It was due to head south past South Africa to the Indian Ocean and enter the Mediterranean Sea through the Suez Canal. But monitoring sites claim it took a sudden diversion and headed west towards Bermuda. Pro-Russian telegram users have claimed this week that it had been “spotted on radar in neutral waters of the Atlantic Ocean — at an effective salvo launch distance from the US coast”.
The reports were not confirmed by the Russian Defence Ministry, nor commented on by the United States. But Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia’s national security council, said this month that the Admiral Gorshkov, which is also likely armed with Kalibr cruise missiles and torpedoes, could be deployed about 100 miles off the coast of the United States.
Russia has threatened on a number of occasions that it will use its nuclear arsenal to defend occupied regions of
Ukraine that it claims as its own, including Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, while accusing the West of escalation by sending weapons and supplies to the government in Kyiv.
The rest of it is mostly Russia blaming the West etc etc.