Russia appears to be targeting one of two U.S. Patriot anti-missile defense systems recently acquired by Ukraine following an unprecedented shelling of Kiev earlier on Tuesday.
A U.S. official said some of the missiles had targeted the Patriot system and Washington was assessing the impact. The system’s radar remains operational and is capable of tracking and intercepting incoming missiles, the official said. Patriot systems may have been compromised, they added.
Earlier in the day, Moscow claimed that one of its ballistic missiles had successfully destroyed a Patriot system in Ukraine. Kiev categorically denies the claim and says it managed to shoot down all 18 Russian missiles.
All 18 projectiles, including six hypersonic Cheetahs and nine Caliber cruise missiles, were shot down overnight, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zarouzhny said. The latest air strike came more than a year after Russia’s faltering all-out invasion, causing at least a dozen loud explosions in Kiev around 3 a.m.
“It’s very dense – the highest number of attack missiles launched in the shortest period of time,” said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kiev City Military Administration.
Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed on Tuesday that one of the Kinzhals took out a Patriot missile battery in Kiev, suggesting its attack was aimed at overpowering and destroying the Western defense system Ukraine had recently taken over . Russia also said it shot down seven Storm Shadow long-range missiles provided by Britain, but did not provide any further evidence.
Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s defense minister, said Russia’s claims were “pure propaganda and lies”.
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Earlier this month, Kiev said one of two recently delivered U.S. Patriot air defense units shot down a Russian Kinzhal ballistic missile for the first time, demonstrating a capability Ukraine had not previously possessed.
Hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrapped up a three-day trip to Europe, where he met with top officials from Britain, Germany, France and Italy, they pledged to increase Western power ahead of a widely expected pushback. Weapons, including air defense systems. attack.
“The main result these days is the delivery of new weapons to Ukraine,” Zelensky said in a video address late Monday. “Our victory is getting closer.”
Ukraine’s armed forces have yet to launch a campaign aimed at liberating more of the east and south, where Russia holds nearly a fifth of the country. Zelensky has requested, but has not provided, additional air defense systems and Western fighter jets in order to provide better cover for ground troops.
The two Patriot missiles add another layer to Ukraine’s air defenses, which are struggling to counter some of Russia’s more advanced missiles, such as the Kinzhal. In addition to Ukraine’s Soviet-era air defense system, Western allies have provided the Nasam system and Germany’s state-of-the-art Iris-T air defense system, both of which have less range than the Patriot.
Separately, Russian media said on Tuesday that a Ukrainian drone struck a border control center in the Kursk region on Monday night, injuring five border guards. All five were hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and were in stable condition, according to Baza and Mash, channels on the social media app Telegram linked to Russian security services.