Ukraine intercepts Russia’s hypersonic missile Kinzhal with Patriot missiles provided by US and others

The Ukrainian military announced on the 6th that it had intercepted Russia’s hypersonic missile Kinzhal for the first time using Patriot missiles recently provided by the United States and others.

Ukrainian Air Force Commander-in-Chief Mykola Oleshchuk said on social media that day, “A hypersonic missile launched by Russia flew over the capital Kyiv (Russian name Kyiv) on the night of the 4th and was repulsed with a Patriot missile.” .

Commander-in-Chief Oleshchuk explained that Kinzal was launched from a MiG-31 fighter jet floating in Russian airspace, and the Patriot missile effectively intercepted it.

When the Ukrainian military first received the Patriot missile at the end of last month, it was equipped with an interception system for hypersonic missiles.

It is said that it was delivered from the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands, but the scale of the introduction is not known in detail.

This Kinjal missile interception became the first case of using Patriot.

■ Kinzal, Russia’s proud hypersonic weapon

Russian President Vladimir Putin once described the Kinzal as “an ideal weapon to defeat existing air defense systems by flying at 10 times the speed of sound.”

Just before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, President Putin personally observed the test launch.

Russia is evaluated to be far ahead of the West, including the United States and Europe, in the development of hypersonic missiles, including Kinzal.

Three types are already in use or in the deployment stage. In addition to the hypersonic cruise missile (HCM) Kinzal, ‘Cirkon’ and the supersonic glide vehicle (HGV) mounted missile ‘Avangarde’.

The Kinjal is an air-to-surface and air-to-ship cruise missile that is launched from the air by a fighter jet and then travels at hypersonic speed with its own propellant to hit the target.

It has a maximum flight speed of 12,240 km/h and a range of up to 3,000 km. Can be equipped with nuclear warheads.

Since Iskander, Russia’s representative ground-launched short-range ballistic missile, has been modified, it is a weapon that retains the advantages of Iskander, such as the ability to disrupt air defense radars and make interception difficult.

Right after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it has been using these missiles to strike major facilities throughout Ukraine.

See also: Crisis at the fall of Mariupol….Russia “Hypersonic weapon strikes Ukraine”

In particular, on March 18 of last year, about a month after the start of the war, it announced the next day that it had destroyed key Ukrainian military installations with the Kinzal missile.

The next day, it said, “We fired a Kinzal missile to destroy a military fuel and lubricants depot near the Kostentinivka settlement in the Nikolaev (Mkolaiv) region.”

After this incident, the war in the surrounding area quickly turned over to Russia.

See also: US warns of ‘severe response’ to chemical and biological weapons…Russia “use of hypersonic weapons” for two days in a row

In May of last year, a Russian Tupolev (Tu)-22 strategic bomber, Kinzal, was fired at Odessa, a port city in southern Ukraine, where Charles Michel, president of the European Council, was visiting.

At that time, Chairman Michel stopped his schedule and hurriedly evacuated to an air-raid shelter.

See also: Russian hypersonic missile launch, emergency evacuation of EU summit president… Biden’s ‘Lend-Lease Act’ signed

■ Lack of Missile Inventory

Russia has been using Kinzal only on a limited basis this year after it was known that missile stocks had been running low since the end of last year.

Then, on March 9th, 6 Kinjal were fired at once during large-scale missile airstrikes on several cities in Ukraine.

At the time, the Ukrainian military did not have the proper assets to intercept Kinzal, but the situation has changed since they now operate Patriot missiles.

Ukraine has announced a ‘spring counteroffensive’ to break the long-stagnant front against Russia.

The United States and major Western countries have been quick to supply modern weapons and equipment in this regard.

“Ukraine has provided almost 100 percent of what it requested (weapons and equipment) for the offensive operations it wants to carry out in the spring,” White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said on the 1st. There is a bar.

See also: “100,000 casualties in Russian troops in the last 5 months”…White House “provides 100% of weapons necessary for Ukraine’s counterattack”

This is VOA News Jongsu Oh.