Again there were heavy Russian air raids on Kiev. But apparently Ukraine is succeeding more and more frequently in shooting down Moscow’s hypersonic missiles. German air defense systems will probably also help.
It was another restless night in Kiev, several loud explosions could be heard. Pressure waves shook windows and buildings even in the city center, eyewitnesses report. With 18 rockets of different types, Russia attacked from the north, south and east during the night. It is the eighth massive rocket attack since early May.
Nico Lange from the Munich Security Conference sees this as a change in the strategy of the Russian armed forces. On the one hand, it is about tying down the Ukrainian air defense system, which has to deal with the protection of the civilian population in the cities, says Lange. “Because the resources for air defense in Ukraine are still very limited, Ukraine does not have these systems available, for example to protect the troops on the front line.”
“IRIS-T” and “Gepard” apparently protect Kiev
In connection with the counter-offensive, this could be a disadvantage for the Ukrainian troops, says Lange. At the same time, Russia is trying to find the positions of the Ukrainian air defense with the increased attacks. The capital Kiev is mainly protected by German systems such as “IRIS-T” or the anti-aircraft tanks of the “Gepard” type. It was only announced in April that Germany had also made a “Patriot” system available to Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian sources, this is said to have shot down six Russian “Kinzhal” rockets during the night. For a long time, hypersonic missiles were considered difficult to hit. But Lange thinks the fear of this type of Russian missile is exaggerated. There are other hypersonic systems that are much more difficult to intercept than “Kinzhal” missiles.
“But obviously Russia was not able to produce them in sufficient numbers or to have them ready for use. The fact that the ‘Kinzhal’ has now been intercepted several times is the most likely indication that the ‘Patriot’ systems in are in position in Kiev or near Kiev. And with ‘Patriots’ it’s possible to fight the ‘Kinzhal’ missiles,” says Lange.
The “Patriot” anti-aircraft system actually comes from the USA. According to Russian information, one of the systems was destroyed in the last attack. Ukraine declined to comment on this information. Experts assume that Russia will continue to launch massive airstrikes.
Stocks of Russian “Kinzhal” missiles uncertain
It is not known exactly how many Kinzhal missiles Russia has, says Rafael Loss of the European Council on Foreign Relations ARD-Podcast “Forces and Strategies”. However, it is assumed that only a few have been fired at Ukraine so far because they are very complex and very expensive systems, which are also difficult to post-produce for Russia. “In this respect, every missile fired and blocked has a military effect in that fewer are available and of course it proves that modern Western missile defense systems can also deal with modern Russian missiles.”
Anti-aircraft systems and the corresponding ammunition are a key requirement that Ukraine places on its western partners. Such arms shipments saved lives, it is said. In fact, Ukraine currently has a good hit rate. But when a missile, or even part of it, crashes into residential areas, dozens of civilians are often killed. Most recently in Uman, where more than 20 people were killed in their beds in a high-rise building.