In the early hours of May 16th, Russian armed forces launched a concentrated missile strike targeting Ukrainian anti-aircraft defenses. However, the Ukrainian forces were able to repel the attack. Eighteen Russian missiles were intercepted and destroyed, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, at approximately 3:30 am on May 16, 2023, Russian forces launched an assault on the outskirts of Kiev from the north, south, and east, deploying 18 missiles of varying types from air, sea, and ground.
Six X-47M2 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic hypersonic missiles were fired from six MiG-31K aircraft. Additionally, nine Kalibr cruise missiles were launched from vessels in the Black Sea, along with three ground-launched missiles from the Iskander-M and S-400 models.
Kiev maintains that all the missiles were destroyed by the Ukrainian Air Forces’ anti-aircraft defense systems.
On the night of May 16th, Russia also deployed Iranian Shahed-136/131 attack drones and conducted aerial reconnaissance using three tactical and operational level Orlan-10 drones. These, too, were reportedly intercepted and destroyed.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that the Patriot PAC-3 missile battery (credited with the first Kinzhal missile interception in the war), was hit and put out of service. It appears that the suppression of this air defense system was the intended target of the attack.
See also: Kiev reports interception of Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missile
A U.S. official reportedly informed CNN that the Patriot system was damaged in the attack but not destroyed. The U.S. is still assessing the extent of the damage to determine whether the system needs to be completely withdrawn or can be repaired on-site by the Ukrainians.
Pentagon authorities believe that the Russians were able to identify radar signals emitted by the Patriot system, which they used to target the X-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles.
