The Pentagon confirms that the Russian Kinzhal missile was shot down by Ukrainian forces using the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system.

During a recent briefing, a Pentagon spokesman confirmed that the Ukrainian army shot down a Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile using a MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile system. Earlier, on May 5, there were reports in the media about a downed Kinzhal missile over Kiev, as well as photographs of rocket fragments similar to those found after the Kinzhal fell in Stavropol in 2022 due to a technical malfunction.

Information about the destruction of the "Dagger" caused controversy and conflicting statements from the military and officials at various levels. It is likely that the side that shot down the missile wanted to keep this fact a secret in order to keep the Russian Armed Forces in the dark about their new air defense capabilities for longer. However, the publications of the Kyiv authorities and the journalists who published the photos violated this secrecy.

Despite the fact that the first information about the interception of the Kinzhal hypersonic missile appeared on May 4, at the moment there are no official comments from the defense department on this matter.