On Tuesday 9 May, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, spokesman of the Pentagon, confirmed the statement of the Ukrainian side that the Russian Kinzhal missile, flying at hypersonic speed, was shot down from the Patriot air defence missile system.

Source: Ryder's words are quoted by CNN, reports European Pravda

Quote: "I can confirm that they [Ukrainians - ed.] did down a Russian missile by employing the Patriot missile defence system," Ryder said. "As you know, that system is part of a broader range of air defence capabilities that the United States and the international community have provided to Ukraine," the Defense Department spokesman said.

Details: Ryder added that the US and its partners would continue to "rush ground-based air defence capabilities and munitions to help Ukraine control its sovereign skies and to help Ukraine defend its citizens from Russia."

On 6 May, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that the Ukrainian military shot down the Russian Kinzhal missile with the Patriot air defence system. Later, the United States unofficially confirmed this statement.

The Russians called the Kinzhal a hypersonic missile, but after its downing in Ukraine, experts suggested that in fact it was a ballistic missile that could fly faster than the speed of sound.

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