Ukraine allegedly shot down Russia’s ‘unstoppable’ hypersonic missile in what would be a major blow to Vladimir Putin.
The air-launched missile was aimed at Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday morning in response to a suspected drone attack on the Kremlin – but is believed to have been downed by Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian military experts said the debris left at the site indicated that the missile that crashed was Russia’s prized Kh-47 Kinzhal – or Dagger – hypersonic missile.
The Kyiv armed forces may have used a US-supplied Patriot system to bring down the suspect Kinzhal, experts say.
The 24-foot, one-ton Kinzhal can carry a conventional or nuclear warhead, and Russia has boasted that the missile is unrivaled among Western defences.
Ukrainian military experts said the debris left at the site indicated that the missile that crashed was Russia’s prized Kh-47 Kinzhal – or Dagger – hypersonic missile.
The Kyiv armed forces may have used a US-supplied Patriot system to down suspect Kinzhal (pictured), experts say
The 24-foot (24-foot) Kinzhal can carry a conventional or nuclear warhead, and Russia boasts that the missile is unrivaled among Western defences.
If Ukrainian forces take down the Kinzhal, it will be the first time such a missile has been shot down.
The Specialist Defense Express website said: ‘One of the photos shows the nose cone, which is as close as possible to that used in the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile with a complex shape of sharp diameter transitions.
The debris indicated that it had suffered penetration damage, which allowed us to estimate the thickness of the material required to withstand the high temperatures during acceleration to hypersonic speeds.
‘It also shows that the intercept was quite effective, with the warhead disintegrating in the air.
‘This explains the strong explosion heard by residents of Kyiv on the night of 4 May.’
The site said: ‘Outdated Soviet air defense systems were not capable of shooting down such missiles…
“In most cases, defeating such targets is possible only with the help of the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system with the PAC-3 MSE kinetic interceptor.
‘Hole in the wreckage…showing the possibility of using such a missile.’
Russian war websites strongly dispute Ukraine’s claims of being ‘nonsense’.
“Ukrainian military experts are trying to pass off the water pipes as rocket debris,” one said.
The Kinzhal can be fired from MiG-31, Tu-160 or Tu-22M3M fighters, and has been used by Moscow in the war.
The hypersonic Kinzhal has a range of 1,250 miles and its conventional version was deployed for the first time against Ukraine in March 2022.
Russian troops launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Thursday after two drones hit the Kremlin in an attack Russia blamed on Ukraine and the US.
If Ukrainian troops take down the Kinzhal, it will be the first time such a missile has been shot down
Pictured: A fireball is seen rising over the Kremlin after the alleged drone strike by Ukraine on Wednesday
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted – without providing evidence – the US was “unquestionably” behind the attack it said was carried out by Ukraine – a claim the White House dismissed as “a hoax”.
About 40 explosive-laden drones marked “for Moscow” were fired at towns miles away from the front lines, with explosions heard in the capital Kyiv and the southern cities of Odesa and Zaporizhzhia.
“The decision for such an attack is not made in Kyiv, but in Washington,” Peskov said angrily. ‘Kyiv is just doing what he’s told. Attempts to deny this, both in Kyiv and in Washington, of course, are absolutely ridiculous.’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky disputed Russian claims that Ukraine was behind the drone attack on the Kremlin and British security officials believed the attack was a “false flag” operation by Russia to divert Kyiv from an anticipated retaliatory strike and drum up support at home.
While Ukraine has demonstrated the capability to mount such an attack on the Kremlin, Kyiv is deemed unlikely to risk breaking international support by targeting the dictator directly.
A Russian “false flag” attack appears to be a more likely explanation, with the explosion intended to generate support for Putin and further Russian attacks on Kyiv, British officials said last night.
Source: | This article originally belonged to Dailymail.co.uk
