Ukrainian officials announced Saturday that the nation’s military shot down a Russian hypersonic missile using American Patriot defense technology.
The Kinzhal-type missile, fired over Kiev, is the first of its kind to be intercepted by Ukrainian defenses.
“Yes, we shot down the ‘one’ Kinzhal,” Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote.
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He added: “It happened during the night attack on May 4 in the sky of the Kiev region.”
The Kh-47 missile was fired by a Russian MiG-31K aircraft. It has a range of 1,250 miles and can fly at 10 times the speed of sound.
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The Ukrainian military claims the ballistic projectile was intercepted by a Patriot missile.
“They were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon and that the Russian weapons are the best in the world,” Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said.
He continued, “Well, there is confirmation that it works effectively even against a super hypersonic missile.” Ihnat said.
The United States, Germany and the Netherlands have contributed Patriot defense systems to the Ukrainian war effort. Ukraine received its first Patriot system last month.