Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on Tuesday, faced an airstrike of 'exceptional intensity'. The Kyiv Military Administration said about 17 missiles were destroyed. Two US officials said a US-made Patriot missile defence system being used by Ukraine likely suffered some damage from the strike. But, added that it did not appear to have been destroyed.
The Patriot system is one of an array of sophisticated air defence units supplied by the West to help Ukraine repel a Russian campaign of air strikes that have targeted critical infrastructure, power facilities and other sites, according to a Reuters report.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday in a post on Telegram that “a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kyiv hit a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.”
One US official said Washington and Kyiv were talking about the best way to repair the system. And it seemed like at the time that it would have to be removed from Ukraine. The official added that there would better understanding of the damages in the coming days.
The US donated one Patriot air defence system to Ukraine, and Germany and Netherlands jointly donated another one to the country. According to a US official, extensive damage to one or more components of the missile system might force Ukraine to take the system offline and out of the country for extensive repairs.
The official also stated that one of the many components of the battery of the Patriot system was hit by the missile barrage. A complete Patriot battery has six major components: generators, a radar set, a control station, antennas, a launcher station and interceptor missiles, CNN reported.