The American-made Patriot air defense missile intercepted one of the most advanced conventional weapons in the Russian arsenal for the first time in Kyiv late on Thursday, the Ukrainian air force claimed on Saturday.
The downing of Russia's Kinzhal hypersonic missile by a Patriot missile, which three senior US officials confirmed, appears to offer the first evidence that Russia's hypersonic missiles, declared to be invulnerable by President Vladimir V. Putin, can be defeated by current Western missile defense systems. .
“I congratulate the Ukrainian people on this historic event,” said Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian air force, in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app. “Yes, we have shot down the ‘unrivaled' ‘Kinzhal'.”
US officials said they had 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 using technical means. Nevertheless, independent analysts are reluctant to confirm the intercept until more information is available about the type of missile the Russians fired and whether it was hit by a Patriot.
The Patriot is by far the most expensive single weapon system the United States has supplied to Ukraine, at a total cost about $1.1 billion: $400 million for systems and $690 million for missiles.
Just last month the first Patriot system arrive in Ukraine, even though Kyiv had begged the Pentagon for weapons since the start of the war. For more than a year, Ukraine has not had an air defense system that can counter Russia's arsenal of ballistic or hypersonic missiles like the Kinzhal.
A hypersonic missile is a long-range munition capable of speeds of at least Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound, or more than one mile per second. That speed is considered by many experts to render traditional air defense systems essentially useless, because by the time they are detectable on radar, they are close to reaching their target.
“It is invincible against all existing and prospective missile defense and counter-air defense systems,” Putin claimed in 2018. But Western analysts remain skeptical, calling the missile, a modified version of existing conventional munitions, “new wine in an old bottle.” ”
Nevertheless, China and the United States are racing to develop and deploy hypersonic missiles, and many other countries are experimenting with the technology.
The powerful explosion that officials said was the destruction of a Kinzhal missile over central Kyiv rattled windows and jolted people out of bed. Shrapnel from the explosion littered the streets not far from the government district in the heart of the city and were collected by a team of forensic experts.
General Oleshchuk said the military was waiting to report on the destruction of the hypersonic missile to protect operational security. He urged the public not to share information about air defense as they work to counter 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 types of missiles called interceptors, each designed to destroy different types of threats such as fighters, helicopters, cruise missiles, drones and even ballistic missiles. One, called the PAC-3, can knock down enemy aircraft at about 40 miles, and ballistic missiles at about 20 miles.
According to classified documents from a batch a Massachusetts aviator was accused of leaking, the United States sent a version of the PAC-3 to Ukraine. Germany and the Netherlands have teamed up to deliver a second PAC-3 version, according to the document.
Under the right conditions, the Patriot might be capable of taking down one of the fast-moving Kinzhal missiles, according to Ian Williams, deputy director Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.
“Hitting the Russian Kinzhal with a Patriot missile will be difficult but not impossible,” said Mr. Williams. “There are many factors, such as where the Patriot is, where Kinzhal is going and whether it is maneuvering or not.”
While Kyiv and other cities across Ukraine have been bombarded with missiles, rockets, drones and bombs for more than a year, killing thousands of civilians, the repeated attacks on Kyiv by Russian drones over the past two weeks have left many in the city nervous.
Ukraine has become adept at shooting down Russian cruise missiles and drones, often dropping 70 to 80 percent of them out of the sky in any given attack. But those that penetrate complex air defense networks can do tremendous damage.
The Kinzhal, or Dagger, is a modified version of the Russian Army's Iskander short-range ballistic missile, designed to be fired from a truck-mounted launcher on the ground. Launching missiles from a warplane at altitude, rather than from the ground, leaves more fuel to be used to reach higher speeds.
The Ukrainian air force says that Russia has used about 50 Kinzhals during the war, including during sustained attacks on Ukraine's energy grid in the fall and winter.
Patriot systems work most effectively as part of what the U.S. military calls “layered defense,” which includes systems used to down or thwart drones and fighter aircraft, as well as a variety of cruise and ballistic missiles, U.S. officials say. Previously, its general ability to counter weapons like the Russian Kinzhal was unknown.
Following a U.S. promise to provide Patriot systems, Ukrainian troops were dispatched to Fort Sill, Okla., for a 10-week crash course on how to use them. They finished training at the end of March and are now training others in Ukraine.
General Oleshchuk said that the use of the Patriot as part of a layered air defense network should provide comfort to the 3.6 million people living in Kyiv and people in other cities.
“When a loud bang was heard in the air, my daughter reassured the neighbors every time with the words: calm down, our air defense system is working!” he says.
Here's what else happened in Ukraine:
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Explosion injures a prominent Russian: A car bomb has injured a prominent Russian nationalist writer and killed his driver, Russian state media reported on Saturday. The state-run Tass news agency said its author, Zakhar Prilepin, was injured but conscious. Preliminary information indicated that an explosive device had been planted under Mr. Prilepin in Nizhny Novgorod, Tass reportedbut it did not say who was believed to be behind the attack.
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Russification Attempts: Ukraine's military said on Saturday that Russian officials were increasing pressure on Ukrainian civilians in the illegally annexed area to obtain Russian passports, with occupying authorities in the city of Starobilsk going door-to-door to enforce a new decree allowing those who do not cooperate. removed from their home. Such claims cannot be independently verified. Russia does not allow journalists or international organizations to access the territory under its control. Ukrainian officials said investigators had gathered evidence in recent days of attempts to force people to pledge allegiance to the Russian Federation by obtaining passports, or to be deemed foreigners without legal residence permits. Mr. Putin signed a decree on April 27 which said those who refused could be considered a threat and “deported”, according to the policy.
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Prisoner Exchange: Ukraine said on Saturday that 45 national guard members had been freed from Russian captivity. Andriy Yermak, top adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, he said on Twitter that 42 men and three women had defended the Azovstal steelworks in the port city of Mariupol, site of a brutal siege. The Russian Defense Ministry said separately in a statement that three of its pilots had been freed from Ukrainian captivity after a “difficult negotiation process”.
Marc Santora reported from Kyiv, Ukraine, and Eric Schmitt And John Ismay from Washington. Cassandra Vinograd reporting contribution from London, and Victoria Kim from Seoul.