On May 7, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, said that thanks to the American Patriot air defense system, the Ukrainian armed forces were able to shoot down the Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missile. Reznikov noted that this achievement was made possible thanks to the support of international partners.

The Minister of Defense specified that previously Ukraine did not have the means to intercept the Kh-47 hypersonic missiles used by the Russian military. However, now that the Armed Forces are equipped with the Patriot system, such opportunities have appeared.

“Thanks to the Patriot system, a powerful new air defense tool of Ukraine, it was possible to shoot down a Russian Kh-47 hypersonic aeroballistic missile. As long as our friends did not support us, we did not have the opportunity to destroy such targets. Now the impossible becomes possible! - Reznikov said in a message.

At the same time, some Western military analysts consider the report about the downing of the Russian "Dagger" a fake. They indicate that the principle of operation of the Kinzhal missile is a two-phase flight: first hypersonic, and then with deceleration for correction and maneuvering. In this regard, the old Soviet air defense systems cannot shoot down such a missile. Destroying the Kinzhal usually requires the use of a Patriot air defense system with a PAC-3 MSE kinetic interceptor. However, the Russian side does not officially comment on the statement of the Ukrainian military about the alleged interception of a hypersonic missile.