Ukraine claims to intercept Russian hypersonic missile

The Ukrainian military announced that it had shot down a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile for the first time in an effort to protect the airspace over the capital Kiev.

"Congratulations to the Ukrainian people on this historic event. Yes, we shot down the 'unparalleled missile' Kinzhal," General Mykola Oeshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, said in a Telegram post today.

General Oeshchuk said the Kinzhal missile was shot down by a Patriot air defense system over Kiev in the early hours of May 4. The Ukrainian military had previously not mentioned the Kinzhal missile used by Russia in the Kiev attack, although the city’s military agency said Moscow had launched a ballistic missile.

Russia has not commented on the statement of the Ukrainian air force commander.

Debris believed to belong to the Kinzhal hypersonic missile shot down by Ukraine on May 4. Photo: Defense Express — Debris believed to be from the Kinzhal missile shot down by Ukraine on May 4. Photo: *Defense Express*

The Ukrainian Air Force also announced that it had shot down eight Russian suicide drones in the eastern and southeastern regions of the country.

Ukraine last month received two Patriot systems supplied by the United States, Germany and the Netherlands. President Volodymyr Zelensky said they would significantly boost Ukraine's defenses against Russian attacks.

Hypersonic missiles are weapons that travel at least five times faster than the speed of sound, equivalent to more than 6,200 km/h. Thanks to their complex flight trajectory and very high speed, hypersonic weapons have higher lethality and are almost impossible to intercept with current defense shields.

The Kinzhal hypersonic missile is one of six super weapons announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018.

Russia first used the Kinzhal missile in March 2022, when it attacked a large weapons depot in the Ivano-Frankivsk region of western Ukraine. US President Joe Biden later said the Kinzhal was "a high-impact weapon that doesn't make much difference, except that it's virtually impossible to intercept."

The Ukrainian military has repeatedly admitted that it is incapable of shooting down Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles.