The kinetic parameters of condensed phase global reaction are required to calculate temporal and energetic characteristics of the ignition and combustion of energetic materials (EMs). The heating rate of EM in these processes exceeds 1000 K/s and therefore the kinetic data obtained via using classical thermal analysis methods with heating rate of 1-50 K/min may not provide the processes adequate description. A solution to the problem was suggested more than 50 years ago by Merzhanov who noticed a possibility to determine required kinetic parameters from the EM experimental ignition delays. However, mathematical background and justification for this approach has not been performed. It is commonly assumed that the approach yields the true kinetics at high heating rates of EMs. The present work aims to verify the validity of Merzhanov's approach. Numerical calculations were performed using transient mathematical models of the EM ignition and the results of virtual ignition experiments were processed using Merzhanov's ignition criterion. The deliverables were the values of kinetic parameters that substantially differ from those used as input data in numerical calculations. The paper concludes about necessity of elaborating mathematically substantiated techniques for determining kinetic parameters of global exothermic condensed-phase reaction via using the EM ignition delays. (C) 2020 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.