Ukraine announced the capture of 6 hypersonic “Daggers” in one night

The Ukrainian Air Force shot down six supersonic Kinzhalas during a Russian missile attack on the night of May 16.

In total, Russia fired 18 missiles across the country. The launches took place around 3:30 local time from the north, south and east, said Valeriy Zaluzhny, Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

According to him, Ukraine was attacked with six X-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, nine Kalibr cruise missiles, and three S-400 and Iskander-M ballistic missiles. All the targets were destroyed, Załużny stressed.

Russia also tried to strike with Iranian Shahed-136/131 drones and conduct aerial reconnaissance with three more drones, but all were shot down as well.

Earlier, the head of the Kiev military administration, Sergei Popko, called the night attack “unique in its density.” According to him, Ukraine was launched “with the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest possible time.”

Fragments of the shot down rockets fell in different districts of Kiev – in Obolonsky, Shevchenkovsky, Solomensky and Darnitsky. One of the wrecks went to the zoo in Kiev. Vitaly Klitschko, the mayor of Kiev, announced three victims.

For the first time about the capture of the “Dagger” with the help of the American Patriot air defense system — reported the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in early May. Later, this information was officially confirmed by the Pentagon. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense refused to believe it.

“The fact is that the flight speed of the Kinzhal missile exceeds the maximum combat modes of the anti-aircraft missile systems supplied by the West to the Kiev regime, including the Patriot,” explained a senior Interfax source in the military department.

According to him, “anti-missile maneuver and almost vertical approach to the target” preclude the interception of “Dagger” by any anti-aircraft missile systems.

Russian President Vladimir Putin named the “Dagger” one of the five “miracle weapons” he presented in a 2018 message to the Federal Assembly. Putin assured that the missile has no analogues in the world and that it “guarantees defeating existing and future air and missile defense systems.”

Before Ukraine shot down the first Kinzhal, Russia was confident it would hit its targets by firing those missiles, but now that calculation has been shaken, a senior military source told CNN. in Washington. The capture of the “Dagger” showed that the Patriot capable of hitting not only with ballistic missiles, but also with air-launched missiles, which was previously considered only a theoretical possibility, the source added.