Kinzhal hypersonic missiles possessed by Russian forces could have been shot down with Patriot defense systems if Ukraine already had the anti-missile system in its possession, Ukrainian authorities confirmed after a new massive missile attack on Wednesday.
At least six people were murdered in what Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called a “massive” wave of strikes across the country, which involved the launch of 81 missiles.
There were also 13 Kh-22 anti-ship cruise missiles, 8 Kh-31 anti-ship cruise missiles, 6 Kh-59 guided surface-to-air missiles, and 20 Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles used in the strike.
“In response to the March 2 terrorist actions organized by the Kyiv regime in the Bryansk region, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a massive retaliatory attack,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, the Russian Defense Ministry reported. AFP.
In the first month of the conflict, the Russian military purportedly attacked a military warehouse in western Ukraine with Kinzhal missiles, also known as “Dagger” in Russian.
The Stratcom Center, under the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, tweeted that Ukraine does not currently have “any means that can counter such [Kinzhal] missiles.”
“The US Patriot air defense system is capable of intercepting ballistic missiles,” the Center stated. “That is why it is so important that this air defense system reaches Ukraine as soon as possible.”
Initially, the United States approved the shipment of Patriots in December. At the time, Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated categorically that Russian forces would “absolutely” go after the Patriots. Putin called them “very ancient systems” and threatened to eliminate them from Russia.
Army Assistant Secretary for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology Douglas Bush stated Wednesday that he expects the Patriot systems to arrive in Ukraine “very soon” and ready to go into action.
US forces have trained Ukrainian fighters in the use of the machinery. Bush added that the supply of Patriot systems would not affect operational unit readiness.
During a roundtable with the media on January 25, Bush was asked about the delivery timeline and training period required for Ukrainians to become familiar with utilizing the technologies.
“With enough motivation and ongoing access to them, we can train people very quickly,” Bush said. “The United States Army knows how to do it, and we’re doing it right now.”
“And in some cases, what we would consider a full training program, maybe 60 percent is the critical material that they really need to get into combat, and they’re choosing to work with us to shorten some of those training timelines.” added. “Ukrainians are full partners in those talks.”
Retired US General Mark Hertling was initially among those who did not see the Patriot as a silver bullet for the Ukrainian forces.”These systems are not picked up and moved around the battlefield,” Hertling said before Christmas.
“You place them somewhere that defends your most strategic objective, like a city, like Kyiv. If anyone thinks this is going to be a system that stretches across an 800-kilometer border between Ukraine and Russia, they don’t know how the system works.”
At the time, defense authorities estimated that the training would take several months. Neither the number of Ukrainians who will be trained nor the location was specified.
