Russia announces destruction of Patriot air defense complex in Kiev

Russia claims its forces destroyed an advanced Patriot air defense system supplied by the US to Ukraine during a raid on Kiev.

The Russian Defense Ministry said today that its forces used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy a Patriot air defense missile site in Kiev in a raid early on May 16.

"Long-range precision strike missiles also targeted ammunition depots, weapons and military equipment supplied by the West. All targets were hit," the Russian Defense Ministry said.

This is the first time Russia has announced the destruction of a Patriot system that the US transferred to Ukraine. If confirmed, this would be a huge loss for Ukraine's air defense network, because Patriot was once expected to be a weapon that could significantly change the situation in the sky of this country.

General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander of the Ukrainian military, previously said that Russia had launched six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles from MiG-31K fighters, nine Kalibr cruise missiles from warships in the Black Sea, three Iskander ballistic missiles, six Shahed-136/131 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and three tactical and operational reconnaissance UAVs in the raid on Kiev early this morning.

The Ukrainian military claimed to have shot down all 18 Russian missiles, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. Video on social media showed a Ukrainian Patriot system firing 30 missiles in two minutes to counter the Russian airstrike.

However, after this series of missiles was fired, a large flash of fire broke out at the air defense site, apparently caused by an enemy missile hitting it.

Ukraine has not commented on Russia's claim of destroying the Patriot complex.

Video appears of Ukrainian air defense launching 30 missiles in a row

Video is said to be of Ukrainian air defenses opening fire in the early morning of May 16. Video: Telegram/Milinfolive

Ukrainian officials said the attack was the eighth air strike on the capital Kiev since early May and was also "unusually intense", with the largest number of missiles fired in the shortest amount of time, apparently aimed at overloading enemy air defenses.

Preliminary Ukrainian reports said debris fell in the Kiev inner city after the interceptions, with the heaviest damage recorded in the Solomianskyi district, where an uninhabited building and several vehicles caught fire.

Russia has recently increased its attacks using UAVs and missiles on the capital Kiev and many other localities. The air defense network in Kiev is being significantly reinforced thanks to modern Western complexes, notably the Patriot system, helping Ukraine protect important targets.

A Patriot missile leaves the launch pad during a US Army test in March 2019. Photo: US Army

The Ukrainian military assessed that Russian forces were increasing their attacks to assess and locate air defense systems, as well as to erode the enemy's air defense capabilities.

Two unnamed US officials said Russia had discovered the location of the Patriot site in Kiev and decided to attack with a Kinzhal hypersonic missile in the early morning of May 4. However, the attack failed when the Ukrainian army fired multiple Patriot missiles to shoot down the Russian Kinzhal missile.

Huyen Le (According to Reuters )

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