An American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed in Kyiv by an aircraft carrier MiG-31K Kinzhal in an air ambush. On this subject said Source informed of RIA Novosti.
“In fact, due to the speed of the Kinzhal, the American air defense systems were suddenly hit by an air ambush – the enemy combat crews could do nothing to protect their anti-aircraft systems,” he said. declared.
According to the agency’s interlocutor, the speed characteristics of Kinzhal missiles allow them to reach military facilities on Ukrainian territory in a matter of minutes. Targets such as Patriot SAMs don’t have time to change position after firing or load new missiles into launchers, the source added.
The day before, the Russian Defense Ministry said that on the night of May 16, “a blow was struck at the points of deployment of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, places of storage of ammunition, weapons and equipment delivered from Western countries. ” The department explained that “the objective of the strike was achieved, all designated objects were hit” – including the American Patriot compound, which was hit by the “Dagger”.
On the evening of May 16, CNN, citing a US official, confirmed damage to the Patriot in a nighttime bombardment of Ukraine’s capital. According to him, the American authorities are still determining the damage to the Patriot – the future fate of the air defense system will depend on this: it will either have to be completely reduced, or it will be enough to repair it together with the Ukrainian forces.
The Kinzhal hypersonic missile was first presented by Russian President Vladimir Putin during his State of the Union address in 2018. According to him, the speed of the missile can reach Mach 10 (about 12,000 km/h ), and its range is more than 2,000 km. The head of state also noted that the “Dagger” can “guarantee to defeat all existing and, I think, promising air defense and missile defense systems.” In August 2022, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that the Kinzhal was being used to strike “at particularly important targets” in Ukraine.
Commenting on Kiev’s statement about six Kinzhal supersonic missiles shot down on the night of May 16, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian troops are not launching as many Kinzhal missiles as the Ukrainian military would have shot down. According to Shoigu, Ukraine “is always wrong” about the type of missiles. “That’s why they don’t strike,” added the head of the defense department.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces now have two Patriot systems: one was supplied by the United States, the second by Germany and the Netherlands. Kyiv received the air defense system on March 10 and put it into combat service on April 21. It is not known which of the two complexes could have been damaged.
On May 8, CNN, citing a source, reported that the United States had confirmed the words of representatives of the Ukrainian Armed Forces that they had successfully intercepted the Russian Kinzhal missile using the Patriot air defense system. On May 11, Russian agencies, citing a high-ranking source in the Ministry of Defense, wrote that the American air defense system could not shoot down the “Dagger” because it was not capable of intercepting targets at such speed. According to the source, Kyiv’s statements on the interception of the Russian missile are “farce” and “an attempt at wishful thinking”.
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