Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshuk said via the “Telegram” app that a “Kinjal” ballistic missile was intercepted during a night attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week .
It was also the first time Ukraine was known to use Patriot defense systems.
Oleshuk wrote: “Yes, we shot down Alfred Kinjal. This happened during a night attack on May 4 in the sky over the Kiev region.”
Oleshuk said the “KH-47” missile was launched by a “Mig-K31” aircraft from Russian territory and shot down by a Patriot missile.
And “Kinjal” is one of the newest and most advanced Russian weapons, and the Russian military claims that the range of a ballistic missile launched from the air reaches 2,000 kilometers and it flies ten times the speed of sound, making it difficult to intercept it.
The combination of supersonic speed and heavy warhead allows the “Kinjal” to destroy heavily fortified targets, such as underground bunkers or mountain tunnels.
The Ukrainian army had previously admitted that it did not have the necessary means to intercept the “Kinjal” missiles.
Ukraine received its first shipment of Patriot missiles in late April, and it did not say how many systems it has, but it was supplied by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said he first requested the Patriot systems when he visited the United States in August 2021, months before the Russian military operation.
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