"A historic event." This is how Ukrainian General Mykola Oleshchuk described the fact of having shot down for the first time a Russian hypersonic missile of the Kinjal type during strikes carried out by Moscow on the night of Wednesday to Thursday.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin had described it, when he unveiled the Kinjal missile in 2018, as an "ideal weapon" because it was very difficult for opposing defenses to intercept.
"I congratulate the Ukrainian people on this historic event," General Mykola Oleshchuk said on Telegram. "Yes, we shot down the Kinjal missile, which has no equivalent," he said. According to the Ukrainian Air Force, the missile was shot down by a Patriot air defense system over Kiev around 2:30 a.m. local time.
Strengthened Ukrainian defences
Ukraine has asked its Western allies to help it strengthen its air defense system. Throughout the winter, Moscow had indeed bombed its energy infrastructure. And in mid-April, Kiev 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.