KYIV: Ukraine\u2019s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow\u2019s most modern missiles.
\nAir Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defense systems.
\n\u201cYes, we shot down the \u2018unique\u2019 Kinzhal,\u201d Oleshchuk wrote. \u201cIt happened during the night time attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.\u201d
\nOleshchuk said the Kh-47 missile was launched by a MiG-31K aircraft from the Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile.
\nThe Kinzhal is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The Russian military says the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.
\nA combination of hypersonic speed and a heavy warhead allows the Kinzhal to destroy heavily fortified targets, like underground bunkers or mountain tunnels.
\nThe Ukrainian military has previously admitted lacking assets to intercept the Kinzhals.
\n\u201cThey were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon, and Russian weapons are the best in the world,\u201d Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on Ukraine\u2019s Channel 24 television. \u201cWell, there is confirmation that it effectively works against even a super hypersonic missile.\u201d Ihnat said.
\nHe said successfully intercepting the Kinzhal is \u201ca slap in the face for Russia.\u201d
\nUkraine took its first delivery of the Patriot missiles in late April. It has not specified how many of the systems it has or where they have been deployed, but they are known to have been provided by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
\nGermany and the US have acknowledged each sending at least one system and the Netherlands has said it has provided two though it is not clear how many are currently in operation.
\nUkrainian troops have received the extensive training needed to be able to effectively locate a target with the systems, lock on with radar and fire. Each battery requires up to 90 personnel to operate and maintain.
\nDefense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said he first asked for Patriot systems when visiting the US in August 2021, months before Russia\u2019s full-scale invasion but seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine\u2019s Crimea peninsula.
\nHe has described possessing the system as \u201ca dream\u201d but said he was told in the US at the time that it was impossible.
\nThe Patriot was first deployed by the US in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per missile, and the launchers cost about $10 million each, according to analysts.
\nAt such a cost, it was widely thought that Ukraine would only use the Patriots against Russian aircraft or hypersonic missiles.
\nIn other developments, Ukraine\u2019s Special Operations Forces accused Russia of using phosphorous munitions in its attempt to wrest control of the eastern city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces.
\nRussian troops have been trying to take the city for more than nine months, but Ukrainian forces are still clinging to positions on the western edge of the city.
\nOn Saturday, the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper quoted military officials as saying that \u201cthe enemy used phosphorus and incendiary ammunition in Bakhmut in an attempt to wipe the city off the face of the earth.\u201d
\nA photo accompanying the newspaper report showed an urban area lit up with fire in multiple places.
\nThe allegations could not be independently verified.
\nRussian forces have not commented on the claim but have rejected previous accusations from Ukraine that they had used phosphorus.
\nInternational law prohibits the use of white phosphorus or other incendiary weapons \u2014 munitions designed to set fire to objects or cause burn injuries \u2014 in areas where there could be concentrations of civilians.
\nWhite phosphorous can also be used for illumination or to create smoke screens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KYIV: Ukraine\u2019s air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow\u2019s most modern missiles. Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":329713,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-329703","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n