Kyiv repels a powerful night missile attack. “Kinzhal” downing is no accident?

On the night of Tuesday, May 16, the Russian military launched an intense missile attack on the Ukrainian capital. According to TSN, the air raid alert in Kyiv sounded from 02:25 until the morning, and residents of the capital and suburbs heard dozens of powerful explosions. At the same time, this night was another proof of the Ukrainian air defense’s brilliant work – all 18 Russian missiles and 9 drones were destroyed. In particular, 6 Kinzhal missiles, which the Russians believed were impossible to shoot down, were downed.

“It was exceptional in its density – the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest time period,” commented Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv Military Administration.

In most of Kyiv’s districts, the damage caused by missile fragments was minor, with buses burning in the Solomyansky district of the capital.

“Grateful for the powerful work of Ukrainian air defenders,” wrote US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink. 

Grateful for the powerful work of Ukrainian air defenders.
Вдячна за потужну роботу українських ППО.

— Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) May 16, 2023

British Ambassador to Ukraine Dame Melinda Simmons also reacted to the attack. “A full on aerial attack on Kyiv last night, pretty intense. Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night. Hope everyone is ok,” Ms. Simmons wrote on Twitter.

A full on aerial attack on Kyiv last night, pretty intense. Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night. Hope everyone is ok.

— Dame Melinda Simmons (@MelSimmonsFCDO) May 16, 2023

The shooting down of 6 Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles by Ukrainian air defense forces is an outstanding achievement of Ukrainian defenders, as well as a triumph of Ukrainian military skill and Western weapons over the Kremlin’s myth of the alleged “uniqueness” and “invincibility” of Russian military technology. 

Until recently, it was believed that the Kinzhal missile could not be shot down, and the media reported stories about this missile as “Russia’s most formidable weapon.” The Ukrainian military’s first downing of a Kinzhal took place in the skies over Kyiv on May 8 this year. And while some people (especially the Russians) still thought it was an accident, today, Ukrainian warriors have finally proved to the world that Russian “Kinzhal” missiles are no longer a threat to Ukrainian defenders armed with American Patriot systems. Today, with the strong support of their Western allies, Ukrainians have finally ended the myth of the “greatness” of the Russian military and Moscow’s “military capabilities.”