Strikes were carried out by Moscow overnight from Wednesday to Thursday. “Yes, we shot down the Kinjal missile, which has no equivalent,” rejoiced Ukrainian General Mykola Oleshchuk.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted update
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“A historic event.” This is how the Ukrainian general Mykola Oleshchuk described the fact of having shot down for the first time a Russian hypersonic missile of the Kinjal type in strikes by Moscow overnight from Wednesday to Thursday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called it, when he unveiled the Kinjal missile in 2018, an “ideal weapon” because it was very difficult for opposing defenses to intercept.
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“I congratulate the people of Ukraine on this historic event,” General Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. “Yes, we shot down the Kinjal missile, which has no equivalent,” he rejoiced. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the missile was shot down by a Patriot air defense system over kyiv around 2:30 a.m. local time.
Reinforced Ukrainian defenses
Ukraine has asked its Western allies to help it strengthen its air defense system. Throughout the winter, Moscow had indeed bombarded its energy infrastructure. And in mid-April, kyiv received its first Patriots, considered one of the most advanced air defense systems.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had said the Patriots would “significantly” strengthen Ukraine’s defenses against Russian strikes.