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Ukraine said on Tuesday it had shot down six of Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missiles overnight, disrupting a super-weapon that Moscow had previously described as all but unstoppable.
This is the first time Ukraine has claimed to have hit all of its multiple hypersonic missiles, and if confirmed, it would be a demonstration of the effectiveness of the West’s newly deployed air defenses.
Air raid sirens blared across almost all of Ukraine on Tuesday and were heard in Kyiv and its regions for more than three hours.
“The enemy’s mission is to spread panic and create chaos. However, in the northern operational zone [including Kyiv]everything is under complete control,” said General Serhiy Naev, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Six Kinzhals – ballistic missiles that travel at 10 times the speed of sound – were among 18 missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine overnight, lighting up Kyiv with flashes and raining debris after being blasted from the sky.
Kinzhals have not been widely distributed
Russia’s defense ministry says it has destroyed the US-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system with a Kinzhal missile, military news outlet Zvezda reported.
But the commander of the Ukrainian army, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said that all the Kinzhals had been successfully intercepted.
Zaluzhnyi said his forces had intercepted six aircraft-launched Kinzhals, as well as nine Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and three land-fired Iskanders.
Earlier this month, Ukraine claimed to have fired a single Kinzhal missile over Kyiv for the first time using the newly deployed US Patriot air defense system.
The Kinzhal missile – the name means “dagger” – can carry conventional or nuclear warheads up to 2,000 kilometers. Russia used the weapon in combat for the first time in Ukraine last year and has only admitted firing missiles on a few occasions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has often cited Kinzhal as evidence of Russia’s world-beating military hardware, able to take on NATO.
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City authorities in the Ukrainian capital said three people were injured by falling debris.
“This is extraordinary in density – the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest time,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the military administration of the city of Kyiv, on the Telegram social media site.
Zvezda quoted the Russian ministry as saying that the attack was aimed at Ukrainian combat units and ammunition storage sites.
With Ukrainian forces preparing to attack for the first time in six months, Russia is now launching long-range airstrikes with the highest frequency of the war.
It has launched eight drones and a volley of missiles so far this month. Kyiv says it has fired most of the shots.
The past week has seen Ukrainian forces make their biggest gains on the battlefield since last November, recapturing several square kilometers of territory on the northern and southern outskirts of the embattled city of Bakhmut. Moscow acknowledged that some of its troops had retreated but denied that its battle lines had collapsed.
European leaders meet in Iceland
Kyiv said the advance was localized and did not yet represent the full force of the upcoming counterattack, which is expected to take advantage of hundreds of modern tanks and armored vehicles sent by the West this year.
A Ukrainian counteroffensive will bring the next major phase of the war, after a huge Russian winter offensive that failed to capture significant new territory despite the bloodiest ground fighting in Europe since World War II.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has wrapped up a whirlwind European tour where he secured more military aid ahead of an expected spring counter-offensive. Britain has promised to help create a Western ‘coalition jet,’ but has ruled out sending itself.
European leaders, meanwhile, met in Iceland on Tuesday for a two-day European Council summit to show their support for Ukraine.
According to a final draft declaration seen by Reuters, the leaders will approve a new Damage Register, a mechanism to record and record evidence and claims of damage, loss or injury resulting from the Russian invasion.
European leaders such as Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Britain’s Rishi Sunak and French President Emmanuel Macron attended the summit, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address via video link.
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