Ukraine said it destroyed nearly all the Kinzhal and Zirkon missiles that Russia fired in a massive weekend barrage.
The Ukrainian military said it destroyed nearly all of the hypersonic missiles Russia launched as part of a massive bombardment over the weekend.
Ukraine said that Russia fired eight Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missiles and one 3M22 Zirkon missile as part of a barrage that started on Saturday night and consisted of 210 missiles and drones of various types.
Kyiv’s air force said its defenders shot down over 140 munitions that were part of the attack, including seven of the Kinzhals and the lone Zirkon.
The purported success of Ukraine’s air defenses during the engagement marks the latest blow to the reputation of Russian hypersonic weapons, which Moscow has touted as highly advanced systems that are basically unstoppable. Kyiv has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to shoot them down.
The Kinzhal (Russian for «dagger») is an advanced air-launched ballistic missile based on the ground-launched Iskander that Moscow claims is a hypersonic weapon. This is misleading because even though it can reach hypersonic speeds — at least five times the speed of sound — and features a certain amount of maneuverability, it lacks crucial characteristics that allow it to be classified as such.
The Kinzhal, which Russian President Vladimir Putin revealed in 2018, can carry a conventional explosive payload said to weigh some 1,000 pounds, but it is also a nuclear-capable weapon.
The Zircon, sometimes spelled Tsirkon, is a ship-launched missile that Russian officials claim can travel at speeds of nearly 7,000 mph.
