According to the Ukrainian Air Force, it successfully launched a Russian hypersonic missile Kinzhal. “I congratulate the people of Ukraine on a historic event!” the head of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleshchuk, wrote today on his Telegram channel. The Kinschal, repeatedly touted by Moscow as one of the best missiles ever, was intercepted in the Kiev region on Thursday night with the help of the US Patriot defense system.
Earlier there had been speculation in Ukraine, which had been defending itself against a Russian war of aggression for more than 14 months, that Kinzhal had been shot down. Military bloggers, for example, posted photos that were supposed to show the rocket’s wreckage. The information could not be independently verified. There was no reaction from the Russian side either.
The eight-meter-long Kinzhal rocket, whose name translates to “dagger” in German, is particularly feared because it can fly extremely high and extremely fast. Therefore, it is considered particularly difficult to intercept. If the Ukrainian air defense actually managed to shoot down such a thing, it would not only be a military success, but also an important symbolic success.