The Ukrainian Air Force He claimed this Saturday to have shot down a Russian hypersonic missile over kyiv using defense systems patriot newly acquired American missiles, the first time the country is known to have been able to intercept one of Moscow’s most modern missiles.
Air Force Commander, Mykola Oleshchuksaid in a Telegram message that the ballistic missile of the type Kinzhal it had been intercepted in a night attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used Patriot defense systems.
“Yes, we shot down the ‘only’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It occurred during the night attack on May 4 in the skies over the kyiv region.”
Oleshchuk claimed that the missile Kh-47 was thrown by a plane MiG-31K from Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile.
The Kinzhal is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The Russian military claims the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers and fly at a speed 10 times higher than soundwhich makes it difficult to intercept.
The combination of hypersonic speed and heavy warhead allows the Kinzhal to destroy heavily fortified targets, such as underground bunkers or mountain tunnels.
The Ukrainian military has previously admitted that it lacks the means to intercept the Kinzhal.
“They were saying that the Patriot is an outdated American weapon and that Russian weapons are the best in the world,” the Air Force spokesman said. Yuri Ihnat, on Channel 24 of Ukrainian television. “Well, there is confirmation that works effectively even against a super hypersonic missileIhnat said.
He asserted that successfully intercepting the Kinzhal is “a slap in the face for Russia”.
Ukraine received its first delivery of Patriot missiles in late April. It has not specified how many of the systems it has or where they have been deployed, but it is known that they have been supplied by United States, Germany and the Netherlands.
Germany and the United States have each acknowledged sending at least one system and the Netherlands has said it has provided two, though it is unclear how many are currently in operation.
Ukrainian troops have undergone extensive training to be able to effectively locate a target with the systems, lock on it with radar, and fire. Each battery requires up to 90 people for its operation and maintenance.
Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikovsaid he first ordered Patriot systems when he visited the United States in August 2021, months before the full-scale Russian invasion but seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula.
You have described ownership of the system as “a dream”but indicated that in the United States they told him then that it was impossible.
The Patriot was first deployed by the United States in the 1980s. The system costs approximately 4 million dollars per missileand the launchers cost about $10 million eachaccording to analysts.
At such a cost, it was thought that Ukraine would only use the Patriots against Russian hypersonic aircraft or missiles.
In a message posted Saturday on Telegram, Valerii ZaluzhnyiCommander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, stated that he had thanked the US General Mark MilleyChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, US aid to Ukraine.
Zaluzhnyi stated that he had also briefed Milley “about the situation at the front and the preparations” for the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia.
Ukraine has not said when it might launch the counteroffensive, but is expected to do so this spring.
In an interview this week with the magazine foreign affairsMilley noted that he would not speculate if or when, but that with NATO’s help in training and equipping nine brigades of combined arms, armored and mechanized infantry, “Ukrainians now have the ability to attack”.
He also said that their defense capability had “significantly improved from what they had just a year ago.”
“I don’t want to suggest that they may or may not carry out an offensive operation in the coming weeks,” he said. “That will depend on them. They have a lot to plan and coordinate and all that if they’re going to carry out an offensive operation. but they are prepared to go offensive or defensive”.
In another order of things, the Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported that they had carried out another of their usual prisoner of war exchanges.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that it had returned to Russia three military pilotsand Andriy Yermakchief of staff of the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenskysaid 45 fighters defending the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol they had been returned to Ukraine.
Also on Saturday, the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces accused Russia of using match ammunition in their attempt to wrest control of the eastern city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian forces.
Russian troops have been trying to take the city for more than nine months, but Ukrainian forces are still clinging to positions on the western edge of the city.
On Saturday, the newspaper Ukrainian Pravda quoted military officials as saying that “the enemy used phosphorus and incendiary ammunition on Bakhmut in an attempt to wipe the city off the face of the earth.”
A photo accompanying the newspaper report showed an urban area alight with fire in multiple places.
The allegations have not been independently verified.
Russian forces have not commented on the matter, but have denied previous Ukrainian accusations of using phosphorus.
International law prohibits the use of white phosphorous or other incendiary weapons -munitions designed to set objects on fire or cause burns- in areas where there may be concentrations of civilians.
White phosphor can also be used to illuminate or create smoke screens.
(With information from AP)
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Source-www.infobae.com