Putin's "miracle weapon" has probably been taken apart: Ukraine has apparently neutralized a Russian hypersonic missile with the US Patriot anti-aircraft system.
Washington - The Patriot system is worth its weight in gold for Ukraine: The US Department of Defense has confirmed the launch of a Russian hypersonic missile with the advanced air defense system in the Ukraine war. The Ukrainians intercepted the missile with the help of the US air defense system, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said on Tuesday (May 9) in Washington.
Ryder also confirmed the information of the Ukrainians that it was a hypersonic missile of the Kinschal type. Russian President Vladimir Putin had praised them as "invulnerable" to Western defense systems.
Patriot system repels Russian missile - Ukrainian airspace now safe?
The Ukrainian Air Force had reported the successful launch of the hypersonic missile on Saturday (12 May). The Kinschal ("Dagger"), touted by Moscow as one of the best missiles ever, was reportedly intercepted over the Kiev region with the help of the US Patriot defense system. The extremely fast and high-flying, yet maneuverable missiles have been used by Russian forces in the Ukraine war since at least March, for example to destroy fuel and weapons depots.
In the fight against Russia, Ukraine's anti-aircraft defense is now armed with a number of state-of-the-art Western weapons systems, including the US-made Patriot system. The country has received at least two such systems, one from the United States and one from Germany.
Patriots are part of the various anti-aircraft capabilities that the U.S. and the international community have provided to Ukraine, Pentagon spokesman Ryder said. "The U.S. and our allies, we will continue to deploy ground-based air defense capabilities and ammunition to help Ukraine control its sovereign airspace and protect its citizens from Russian cruise missiles and Iranian drones."
Ukrainian soldiers learn how to use the "Patriot" system faster than expected
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had previously said that the Patriots were "definitely" a legitimate target for Russian forces. Russia had probably located the Patriot system on its radar system. There are ways to camouflage these signals to some extent, Ukrainian officials said. But the Russian military was apparently able to find out the approximate location of the Patriots stationed outside Kyiv. The interception took place there on the night of May 4, said Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of the Ukrainian Air Force. He described this as a "historic event".
The final review of the Patriot systems took place in mid-April, during which US, German and Dutch instructors, along with Ukrainian military personnel, conducted a final inspection of the systems before they were shipped to Ukraine shortly after.
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When the U.S. first announced it would send Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, the timeframe for delivery was months. The reason for this: the complexity of the system and the need to train dozens of Ukrainian troops in the operation of the multi-component battery. However, according to CNN, the Ukrainians were already well acquainted with the use of air defense systems. This allowed the U.S. to compress the standard training program from about a year to several months.
Ukraine is also preparing for a large-scale counteroffensive. Part of the preparation, apparently, is increased fire on Russian artillery. (CGSC with dpa)