Ukraine says it downed hypersonic missile in 'historic' first time
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The Ukraine Air Force said the Russian missile was shot down with a Patriot air-defence system over Kyiv.
ST PHOTO: ANGIE DE SILVA
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KYIV – Ukraine said on Saturday that it had for the first time downed a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile during a wave of Russian attacks in the night between Wednesday and Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who unveiled the Kinzhal missile in 2018, has termed it “an ideal weapon” that is extremely difficult for missile defences to intercept.
“I congratulate the Ukrainian people on the historic event,” General Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. “Yes, we shot down the ‘unparallelled’ Kinzhal” missile.
The Ukraine Air Force said the missile was shot down with a Patriot air-defence system in skies over Kyiv at around 2.30am on Thursday (7.30am Singapore time on Thursday).
Ukraine appealed to its Western allies to help reinforce its air defence system as Russia pounded Ukraine energy infrastructure from the air over winter.
Mid-April, Ukraine received the first Patriots,
President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the system would “significantly” strengthen Ukraine’s defences against Russian strikes. AFP
