Putin’s invincible missile proves anything but in skies over Kyiv

Ukrainian air defenses shot a volley of Russian hypersonic missiles targeting the capital of Kyiv this week, putting a serious dent in claims by President Vladimir Putin that the sophisticated, high-speed missile would prove a major asset for Russia in its 15-month invasion of its smaller neighbor.

Ukrainian defense officials said that an unusually large salvo of 18 Russian missiles, including a half-dozen aero-ballistic hypersonic models, had all been intercepted and destroyed by Kyiv’s missile defense network, which has been bolstered by the arrival of the U.S.-built Patriot air defense batteries supplied by the U.S. and its NATO allies.

The attack on the capital early Tuesday morning was considered one of the biggest since last year’s invasion began and comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was concluding a tour of European capitals in search of more military and economic aid to fight off the Russian invasion. Russia is also bracing for a widely expected spring counteroffensive from Ukrainian forces targeting Russian-occupied lands in the south and east, far away from the capital.

“Russian terrorists have no chance of prevailing over Ukraine. Their weapons can and should be countered by Western ones,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on Twitter.

In addition to the Kinzhal missiles that were launched from MiG-31 jet fighters, Russia fired nine Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and at least three land-based Iskander missiles, Col. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk, Ukraine’s air force commander, said on Telegram.

“All [Russian] missiles were destroyed,” Gen. Oleschuk said.

As is routine in the war, Russia offered its own version of events. claiming that the missile barrage successfully took out one of the Patriot air batteries given by the U.S., the Netherlands and Germany to Ukraine. Two U.S. officials confirmed to the New York Times that a Patriot system had suffered damage from the missile barrage but remained operational. 

The level of damage to the anti-aircraft system would determine whether repairs could be performed in the field or if the Patriot would have to be taken to the rear for more extensive work, a Defense Department official told The Washington Times.

Russian defense officials said they struck a number of high-profile Ukrainian targets, such as ammunition storage sites and several pieces of military equipment supplied by the West, in addition to a hit on the Patriot battery by a hypersonic missile.

“The goal of the strike is reached. All assigned objects are hit,” Russian defense officials said on the Telegram social messaging page.

But reports from the ground in Kyiv said there were no major missile strikes, although debris from one of the intercepted Russian missiles fell on the city’s zoo. If true, it would be a significant reputational blow to a missile that Mr. Putin has bragged about and that even U.S. officials say is on the cutting edge of hypersonic technology.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, in a comment late Tuesday to the state-controlled RIA-Novosti news agency, denied the Ukrainian claims about the hypersonic missile toll, saying, “We have not launched as many Kinzhals as they allegedly shoot down every time with their statements.”

The Dagger

The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile, also known as the Dagger, is one of the crown jewels of Russia’s military arsenal. It is a nuclear-capable, hypersonic ballistic missile with an operational range of about 1,200 miles and can fly at 10 times the speed of sound. Russian officials had boasted that it was invulnerable against any weapon produced by the West, and its maneuverability was supposed to help it defeat even the most sophisticated air defense systems.

In 2021, Sergei Chemazov, CEO of the state-owned Rostec defense conglomerate, said there were no effective countermeasures to the Kinzhal missile, which had been used sparingly so far in the Ukrainian fighting.

“They are precise; they hit their targets at a long distance, plus, they have a very high speed. It is effectively impossible to intercept such a missile,” Mr. Chemazov told the state-owned TASS news agency.

Mr. Putin himself told aides when the Kinzhal was first tested in 2018 that its speed and elusiveness would allow it to “overcome all existing and, I think, prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems, delivering nuclear and conventional warheads in a range” of over 1,200 miles.”
But Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs and former member of Ukraine’s parliament, said the successful defense shows how capable their soldiers are at mastering the firepower donated by NATO members.

“The world saw that Russian weapons are archaic and aren’t able to get through modern air defense systems,” Mr. Gerashchenko said. “We should also admire, once more, the skill of Ukrainian air defenders.”

Building the multi-layered network of air defense systems that allowed Ukraine to knock down a swarm of deadly missiles was not something that happened overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

“This is a colossal job and I thank each and everyone who is involved in it,” Mr. Zelenskyy said on Telegram. “We should remember that such weapons are worth the effort for Ukraine.”

Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko said “Russian barbarians” were responsible for the rocket fragments that fell on the grounds of the city zoo. 

“Fortunately, none of the animals or workers were injured. There was no fire,” Mr. Klitschko said. “Anti-stress measures are now being conducted with the animals.”

Yurii Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s air command, told reporters in Kyiv Tuesday that all the hypersonic missiles had been tracked and destroyed thanks to the new Western-supplied air defense systems. He declined to comments on Russian claims that at least one Patriot battery had been hit in the barrage.

“The Kinzhal X-47 missiles which used to terrorize us are not so scary any more,” Mr. Ihnat said. The six Kinzhals used in the attack represent just over a tenth of the total Russian arsenal, he added.

Separately, Ukrainian officials said their forces had made fresh progress in breaking the Russian siege of the embattled eastern town of Bakhmut, saying they have retaken some 7.7 square miles round the city in recent days, the Associated Press reported.

Away from the battlefield, two unlikely diplomatic efforts moved forward.

Following up on a peace proposal offered by Chinese President Xi Jinping, Chinese envoy Li Hui, a former ambassador to Moscow, is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia. Mr. Li also will visit Poland, France and Germany, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

And the Associated Press reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Mr. Putin and Mr. Zelenskyy have agreed to separate meetings with a delegation of African leaders to discuss a possible plan to end the war. The African leaders’ peace mission will travel to Moscow and Kyiv in the coming days, the South African leader said, and would also include the leaders of Zambia, Senegal, Republic of Congo, Uganda and Egypt.

— This article was based in part on wire service reports.