Russia tried to destroy Patriot air defence system with Kinzhal missile shot down near Kyiv – CNN
Last week, Russia attempted to destroy the US-made MIM-104 Patriot air defence system in Ukraine using a hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
Source: CNN, citing two US officials, as reported by European Pravda
Details: The Russian attack failed, and the Ukrainian military instead intercepted the missile using the Patriot system, officials said, marking Ukraine's first successful use of the advanced air defence system just weeks after it arrived in the country.
An official said the Ukrainian military fired several missiles using the Patriot system at different angles to intercept a Russian missile, demonstrating how quickly they learned to use the new equipment.
US officials believe that the Russians detected signals from the Patriot system, which allowed them to target the system with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile.
The Patriot missile system has a high-performance radar for detecting incoming targets at long range, making it a powerful air defence platform capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and more.
However, the radar signal required to detect threats at a distance also allows hostiles to detect the Patriot unit and determine its location. And unlike some of the shorter-range air defence systems provided to Ukraine, which are mobile and therefore trickier to hit, the extensive Patriot unit is stationary, allowing the Russians to locate it over time.
Officials stated there are ways to mask these signals, but the Russian military has evidently determined the approximate location of the Patriot deployed near Kyiv.
Background:
- Earlier this week, Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, spokesman for the Pentagon, confirmed that the Ukrainian forces used the Patriot system to intercept the Kinzhal, capable of reaching hypersonic speeds.
- Ukraine has received at least two Patriot systems, one from the US and one from Germany, to improve its air defences, which previously could not intercept more advanced Russian missiles like the Kinzhal.
- 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.
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