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WORLD NEWS Monday 8 May 2023

Ukraine downs Russian hypersonic missile with U.S. Patriot

By DAVID RISING
Associated Press
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) —
Ukraine's air force claimed
Saturday to have downed
a Russian hypersonic mis-
sile over Kyiv using newly
acquired American Patriot
defense systems, the first
known time the country has
been able to intercept one
of Moscow's most modern
missiles.
Air Force commander
Mykola Oleshchuk said in
a Telegram post that the
Kinzhal-type ballistic mis-
sile had been intercepted
in an overnight attack on Members of US 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command stands next to a Patriot surface-to-
the Ukrainian capital earlier air missile battery during the NATO multinational ground based air defence units exercise "Tobruq
in the week. It was also the Legacy 2017" at the Siauliai airbase some 230 km. (144 miles) east of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania,
first time Ukraine is known to on July 20, 2017. Associated Press
have used the Patriot de-
fense systems. April. It has not specified Russian aircraft or hyper- In other developments, of-
"Yes, we shot down the how many of the systems sonic missiles. ficials in both Russia and
'unique' Kinzhal," Oleshchuk it has or where they have In a Telegram post on Sat- Ukraine said they had car-
wrote. "It happened dur- been deployed, but they urday, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, ried out another of their
ing the night-time attack are known to have been the commander-in-chief regular exchanges of pris-
on May 4 in the skies of the provided by the United of Ukraine's Armed Forces, oners of war.
Kyiv region." States, Germany and the said he had thanked U.S. The Russian Defense Min-
Oleshchuk said the Kh-47 Netherlands. Gen. Mark Milley, the chair- istry said it brought three
missile was launched by a Germany and the U.S. man of the Joint Chiefs military pilots back to Rus-
MiG-31K aircraft from Rus- have acknowledged each of Staff, for the ongoing sia, and Ukrainian President
sian territory and was shot sending at least one bat- American aid to Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief
down with a Patriot missile. tery and the Netherlands Zaluzhnyi said he also of staff, Andriy Yermak, said
The Kinzhal is one of the has said it has provided two briefed Milley "about the 45 fighters who defended
latest and most advanced launchers, although it is not situation at the front and the Azovstal steel mill in
Russian weapons. The Rus- clear how many are cur- preparations" for Ukraine's Mariupol had been re-
sian military says the air- rently in operation. counteroffensive against turned to Ukraine.
launched ballistic missile Ukrainian troops have re- Russia. Also on Saturday, Ukraine's
has a range of up to 2,000 ceived the extensive train- Ukraine has not said when Special Operations Forces
kilometers (about 1,250 ing needed to be able to it might launch the coun- accused Russia of using
miles) and flies at 10 times effectively locate a target teroffensive, but it is widely phosphorus munitions in its
the speed of sound, mak- with the systems, lock on anticipated this spring. attempt to wrest control of
ing it hard to intercept. with radar, and fire. Each In an interview this week the eastern city of Bakhmut
A combination of hyper- battery requires up to 90 with Foreign Affairs maga- from Ukrainian forces.
sonic speed and a heavy personnel to operate and zine, Milley said he would Russian troops have been
warhead allows the Kinzhal maintain. not speculate on if or when trying to take the city for
to destroy heavily fortified Defense Minister Oleksii it might come, but that with more than nine months,
targets, like underground Reznikov said he first asked NATO assistance to help but Ukrainian forces are still
bunkers or mountain tun- for Patriot systems when vis- train and equip nine bri- clinging to positions on the
nels. iting the U.S. in August 2021, gades' worth of combined western outskirts.
The Ukrainian military has months before Russia's full- arms, armor and mecha- On Saturday, the Ukrainska
previously admitted lack- scale invasion but seven nized infantry, "the Ukraini- Pravda newspaper quoted
ing assets to intercept the years after Russia illegally ans right now have the ca- military officials as saying
Kinzhals. annexed Ukraine's Crimea pability to attack." that "the enemy used phos-
"They were saying that peninsula. He also said that their ca- phorus and incendiary am-
the Patriot is an outdated He has described possess- pability to defend was "sig- munition in Bakhmut in an
American weapon, and ing the system as "a dream" nificantly enhanced from attempt to wipe the city off
Russian weapons are the but said he was told in the what they were just a year the face of the earth."
best in the world," Air Force U.S. at the time that it was ago." A photo accompany-
spokesman Yurii Ihnat said impossible. "I don't want to suggest ing the newspaper report
on Ukraine's Channel 24 The Patriot was first de- that they may or may not showed an urban area lit
television. "Well, there is ployed by the U.S. in the conduct an offensive oper- up with fire in multiple plac-
confirmation that it effec- 1980s. The system costs ap- ation in the coming weeks," es.
tively works against even proximately $4 million per he said. "That'll be up to The allegations could not
a super-hypersonic missile." missile, and the launch- them. They've got a signifi- be independently verified.
Ihnat said. ers cost about $10 million cant amount of planning Russian forces have not
He said successfully inter- each, according to ana- and coordination and all of commented on the claim
cepting the Kinzhal was "a lysts. that to do, if they were to but have rejected pre-
slap in the face for Russia." At such a cost, it was widely do an offensive operation. vious accusations from
Ukraine took its first delivery thought that Ukraine would But they're prepared to do Ukraine that they had used
of the Patriot missiles in late only use the Patriots against offense or defense." phosphorus.q