First time ever: Ukraine shoots down "invincible" Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles

On the night of May 16, at around 03:30 am, Russia launched an unprecedented missile attack on the territory of Ukraine in terms of intensity and power. A total of 18 missiles of various types were fired: sea-, land-, and air-launched. This included 6 Kinzhal missiles, which until recently Moscow had called invulnerable. According to the Ukrainian side, all of them were shot down.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said in his Telegram.

"Six X-47M2 Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles were fired from six MiG-31K aircrafts, 9 Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea, and three land-based missiles (S-400, Iskander-M)." All 18 missiles were destroyed by the air defense forces and means of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Telegram message reads.

"It was exceptional in its density - the maximum number of attack missiles in the shortest period of time," Reuters quoted the Kyiv city administration.

This month, Ukraine claimed to have shot down a single Kinzhal missile in the airspace over Kyiv. However, today, for the first time, an entire volley of hypersonic missiles was reported downed. Prior to this precedent, the possibility of intercepting Kinzhal missiles with Patriot systems was only theoretical. However, today's performance by the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces confirms the high efficiency of the recently deployed Patriot air defense systems.

U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink thanked "for the powerful work of Ukrainian air defenders" during the night attack by Russian forces in her Twitter.

Earlier, during the presentation of the Kinzhal missiles in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that this missile is a new generation weapon and surpasses all possible world analogues.

The shooting down of missiles of this type on May 6 and 16 is called a "historic event" and the result of strong cooperation between Ukraine and its Western allies.

Ukraine's security will also be discussed today at the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe, which will take place in Reykjavik on May 16-17, 2023.

"The summit will reaffirm the principles of the Council of Europe, as well as the Council's support for Ukraine," – the government of Iceland, which is hosting the summit this year, said on its website.