Iran Press/ Europe: A US-made Patriot missile defense system being used by Ukrainian forces has likely suffered some damage from a Russian air attack but does not appear to have been destroyed, two United States officials told the Reuters news agency.
The Russian defense ministry said its missiles destroyed a US-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system in a strike in Ukraine, the Zvezda military news outlet reported.
The reported damage to the US-donated missile defense system follows Russia’s Defence Ministry on Tuesday saying that a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile had destroyed a Patriot missile battery in Kyiv.
One US official, speaking on condition of anonymity and citing initial information, said Washington and Kyiv were already talking about the best way to repair the Patriot system and that, at this point, it did not appear the system would have to be removed from Ukraine.
The official said the US would have a better understanding of the damage in the coming days and information could change over time.
The Patriot is considered to be one of the most advanced US air defense systems, including against aircraft as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. It typically includes launchers along with radar and other support vehicles.
White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that if there was damage done to a Patriot system that needed to be repaired outside Ukraine, we would certainly assist with that.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian forces claimed success in shooting down 18 missiles, including six Kinzhals, which Russia had fired at targets in Kyiv in what was said to be one of the most complex attacks on the capital city – in terms of the number of missiles fired in a short space of time and launched from multiple directions.
The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said earlier that the army had intercepted the six Kinzhals launched from aircraft, as well as nine Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and three Iskanders fired from land.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed the Ukrainian claims that six Kinzhals had been intercepted, saying that Moscow had not fired that many, the RIA news agency reported.
The number of missiles Ukraine claims to intercept is “three times greater than the number we launch”, Shoigu said, according to the report. “And they get the type of missiles wrong all the time. That’s why they don’t hit them,” he added, without elaborating.
The Russian military says the missile’s range is up to 2,000km (about 1,250 miles) and it can fly at 10 times the speed of sound. Its speed and heavy warhead allow the Kinzhal to destroy heavily-fortified targets, such as underground bunkers or mountain tunnels.
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