An American-made Patriot air defense missile successfully intercepted one of the most sophisticated conventional weapons in Russia’s arsenal in Kiev on Thursday night for the first time, the Ukrainian air force announced on Thursday. Seven.
The downing of a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile by a Patriot missile, confirmed by three senior US officials, appears to offer the first evidence that Russia’s hypersonic missiles – which the President Vladimir V. Putin presents as impregnable – can be defeated by current Western missile defense systems.
“I congratulate the Ukrainian people on a historic event,” Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian air force, said in a statement posted on the messaging app Telegram. “Yes, we shot down the ‘unparalleled’ ‘Kinzhal’.”
US officials said they received information about the attack from the Ukrainian military through secret channels. An official added that US military analysts were able to verify the claim by technical means. However, independent analysts have been reluctant to confirm the interception until more information is known about the type of missile Russia fired and whether it was hit by a Patriot missile.
Patriot is by far the most expensive single weapon system the US has supplied to Ukraine, with a price tag of total cost about $1.1 billion: $400 million for the system and $690 million for the missile.
Just last month, the first Patriot systems get there in Ukraine, although Kiev has begged the Pentagon for weapons since the start of the war. For more than a year, Ukraine had no air defense system that could counter Russia’s arsenal of ballistic or hypersonic missiles like the Kinzhal.
Hypersonic missiles are long-range weapons capable of reaching speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound, or more than a mile per second. Many experts say that speed renders traditional air defense systems essentially useless, because by the time they can be detected on radar, they are already close to their target.
“It is invincible against all existing and future air and missile defense systems,” Putin declared in 2018. But Western analysts remain skeptical, calling the missile, session A modification of an existing conventional weapon, which is “new wine in an old bottle”. .”
However, China and the United States are racing to develop and deploying hypersonic missiles, and many other countries are testing this technology.
The powerful explosion, which officials say was caused by a Kinzhal missile destroyed above central Kiev, rattled windows and startled people out of bed. Debris from the explosion was scattered on the street not far from the government district in the city center and was collected by teams of forensic experts.
General Oeshchuk said the army is waiting for the report of the destruction of the hypersonic missile to protect operational security. He urged the public not to share information about air defense systems as they work against Russian missiles and drones.
“We will definitely report what, where, with what and when it was shot down,” he said. “All in its own time.”
The Patriot air defense system can fire three different types of missiles known as interceptors, each of which is designed to destroy different types of threats such as fighter jets, helicopters, and cruise missiles. , drones and even ballistic missiles. One, called the PAC-3, can take down enemy aircraft at a range of about 40 miles and ballistic missiles at a range of about 20 miles.
According to one secret file from an alleged leaked batch of a Massachusetts pilot, the United States is sending a version of the PAC-3 to Ukraine. The document says Germany and the Netherlands have collaborated to submit a second version of PAC-3.
Under the right conditions, a Patriot missile could be capable of taking down one of the fast-moving Kinzhal missiles, according to Ian Williams, deputy director of the agency. Missile defense project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
“Hitting a Russian Kinzhal with a Patriot missile would be difficult but not impossible,” Williams said. “There are a lot of factors, like where the Patriot is, where Kinzhal is heading and whether it’s being deployed.”
While Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine have been bombed with rockets, rockets, drones and bombs for more than a year, killing thousands of civilians, there have been repeated attacks on Kyiv by Russian drones over the past two weeks have worried many in the city.
Ukraine is adept at shooting down Russian cruise missiles and drones, often knocking out 70-80% of them in any given attack. But things that penetrate complex air defenses can do tremendous damage.
Kinzhal, or Dagger, is a modified version of the Russian Army’s Iskander short-range ballistic missile, designed to be fired from ground-mounted truck-mounted launchers. Launching the missile from a fighter aircraft at high altitude instead of from the ground will cause it to use more fuel to reach higher speeds.
Ukraine’s air force says Russia used about 50 Kinzhals throughout the war, including during the ongoing assault on the Ukrainian power grid in the fall and winter.
US officials say the Patriot system is most effective as part of what the US military calls a “multi-layered defense”, which includes systems used to shoot down or intercept unmanned aircraft. pilot and fighter aircraft, as well as a range of cruise and ballistic missiles. Previously, its overall capabilities against weapons like the Russian Kinzhal were unknown.
In line with the U.S. commitment to supply the Patriot systems, Ukrainian soldiers were sent to Fort Sill, Okla., for a 10-week accelerated course on how to use them. They completed their training at the end of March and are now training others in Ukraine.
General Oeshchuk said that using Patriot as part of a multi-layered air defense network will bring comfort to the 3.6 million people living in Kiev and people in other cities.
“When she heard loud explosions in the air, my daughter always reassured her neighbors by saying: calm down, our air defenses are working!” he say.
Here’s what else is happening in Ukraine:
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The explosion injured a famous Russian: ONE The car bombing injured a famous Russian nationalist writer and murdered his driver, Russian state media reported on Saturday. The state-run Tass news agency said the writer Zakhar Prilepin was injured but remained conscious. Preliminary information indicates that an explosive device was planted under Prilepin’s car in Nizhny Novgorod, TASS reportsbut did not say who is believed to be behind the attack.
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More trouble at the nuclear plant: The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Saturday said the situation at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine “is becoming increasingly unpredictable and potentially dangerous” as people from a nearby town were asked by the Russians to leave their homes and businesses. occupation authorities. The reactors at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the town of Enerhodar have been shut down, but thousands of workers are still needed to keep the safety equipment running to prevent a meltdown. The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Mariano Grossi, said in a statement: “The evacuation of the town, where most of the workers live, has increased the risk of accidents. Mr. Grossi said he was concerned by the “increasingly stressful, stressful and challenging conditions for employees and their families.”
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Attempts to Russify: Ukraine’s military said on Saturday that Russian officials were increasing pressure on Ukrainian civilians in illegally annexed areas to obtain Russian passports, with occupation authorities in the town of Starobilsk go from house to house to execute a new decree that allows uncooperative people to be evicted from their homes. The statement cannot be independently verified. Russia has not allowed journalists or international organizations access to areas under its control. Ukrainian officials say investigators have gathered evidence in recent days of attempts to force people to pledge allegiance to the Russian Federation by applying for a passport, or else they would be considered a foreigner. has no legal domicile. Mr. Putin signed Orders on April 27 said that denizens could be seen as a threat and “deported”, according to the policy.
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Swap prisoners: Ukraine said on Saturday that 45 national guard members had been released from Russian captivity. Andriy Yermak, top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, say on Twitter that 42 men and three women defended the Azovstal steel plant in the port city of Mariupol, the scene of a brutal siege. The Russian Ministry of Defense in particular in a statement that three of its pilots were released from detention in Ukraine after “a difficult process of negotiations”.
Marc Santora reports from Kiev, Ukraine, and Eric Schmitt And John Ismay from Washington. Cassandra Vinograd reporting contributions from London, and Victoria Kim from Seoul.
