Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has commented on the recent publication by a Russian media outlet of a list of alleged targets for Zircon missiles. He pointed out that Vladimir Putin never specified which sites would be targeted in the event Washington deploys short and intermediate range missiles close to Russia's borders.
"What the president spoke about is that in the event Russia will be threatened […] it will have to act reciprocally and target our missiles not just at launchers, but also at the territories, where the decision making centres are situated. He never named any specific geographical locations", Peskov said.
The spokesman noted that the Kremlin doesn't interfere with the editorial policy of private or state-owned media and thus questions about the list of potential targets named by the channel Russia-1, must be addressed to the media outlet's chiefs.
State-owned channel Russia-1 (part of VGTRK holding) published a list of 5 "decision making centres" that could be possible targets for Russia's hypersonic Zircon missiles in the event of US aggression. The TV channel named the Pentagon, US presidential retreat Camp David, Fort Ritchie in Maryland, McClellan Air Force Base in California, and Jim Creek as possible targets.
3M22 Zircon (NATO reporting name SS-N-33) is a submarine-based hypersonic missile capable of striking both ships and ground targets. The weapon was presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his annual address to the Federal Assembly, where he stressed that the new weapon is capable of approaching target at the incredible speed of 9 Machs.
READ MORE: Putin: Russia to Take Steps if US Deploys Its Short, Medium Range Missiles in EU
During the address, Putin noted that if the US deploys its short and intermediate range missiles close to Russia's borders, Moscow will be forced to target not just its launchers, but also the decision making centres, controlling them.