The Russian military denied on Wednesday that it was planning to test its new Zircon hypersonic missiles during naval drills off the coast of South Africa this week that will coincide with the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

China’s navy also is participating in the Indian Ocean exercises, which come at a time when Russia’s relationship with the West is at its lowest point since the Cold War, and ties between China and the United States are under serious strain.

As Russian and Chinese warships prepared in South Africa for their joint drills, Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted China’s most senior foreign policy official at the Kremlin. Those meetings showed the strengthening of Russia’s relationship with China and raised concern in the West that Beijing might be ready to offer Moscow stronger support for its war in Ukraine.

Russia’s aims for the naval exercises came under scrutiny because of the involvement of Admiral Gorshkov, a frigate that is armed with hypersonic missiles and has served as the main testbed for them. The ship arrived in Cape Town last week emblazoned with the letters ‘Z’ and ‘V’, which are used as patriotic symbols in Russia and also seen on Russian weapons on the front lines in Ukraine.

Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy (centre) with Chinese naval officers attending the Armed Forces Day in Richards Bay, South Africa. Photo / AP

Russia has said the Zircon missiles can penetrate any missile defence systems by flying at an astounding 11,265 kilometres an hour — around nine times the speed of sound — to strike targets at sea and on land. They have a range of more than 1,000km, Russia claims.

Putin sent Admiral Gorshkov on a trans-ocean cruise last month in a show of force as tensions with the West escalated over Ukraine. But a Russian navy officer in South Africa said on Wednesday that the exercises would focus on maritime security, including the fight against piracy, and the Zircons would not be fired.

Russian military sailors stand in solemn formation onboard of the Admiral Gorshkov frigate of the Russian navy in Richards Bay, South Africa. Photo / AP

The drills will involve “mutual manoeuvring of the three sides, the assistance of the suffering vessel in a disaster, the liberation of a captured vessel by the pirates, and artillery fire which, according to our schedule, does not include the firing with the hypersonic missiles”, Captain Oleg Gladkiy said. He spoke through a translator.

Admiral Gorshkov and a Russian oil tanker for refuelling, a Chinese destroyer, frigate and a support vessel, and a South African frigate will be involved in the exercises, according to a South African military statement released last week.

The Russian navy's Admiral Gorshkov frigate in Richards Bay, South Africa. Photo / AP

Ukraine’s ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, criticised the timing of the drills, which will overlap with Friday’s one-year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine.

Abravitova noted that China, Russia and South Africa, which are partners in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies, have undertaken joint naval drills before, but said “it is a concern for us that they are happening at the time of the anniversary of the brutal Russian invasion”.

“The vessel that came to the shores of South Africa basically brought a piece of the war to this peaceful land through having the letters ‘Z’ and ‘V’ [emblazoned on it], which they are using as a marking on their military equipment while bombing Ukrainian cities,” Abravitova said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Last week, a small yacht flying Ukraine’s flag sailed by Admiral Gorshkov in Cape Town’s harbour in protest. On Wednesday, a group of protesters gathered outside the Russian Embassy in the South African capital, Pretoria. They criticised the presence of the Russian warship and South Africa’s decision to host it.

One protester held up a placard that read: “DON’T PLAY with bullies.”

South Africa, a key partner of the West in Africa, has come under criticism for holding the naval exercises, but has defended itself by saying they were planned two years ago, well before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The exercises are to be held around the Indian Ocean port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. Media access was restricted.