A U.S.-made Patriot system was “probably damaged but not destroyed” during a nighttime missile attack by Russia near Kyiv, a U.S. official told CNN.

The United States is still assessing the extent of the damage, an American official said, according to News.ro. The assessment will determine whether the system should be completely removed or simply repaired on site by Ukrainians.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia reported on Telegram on Tuesday that “the strike by the high-precision hypersonic missile “Kinjal” on the city of Kyiv hit the Patriot anti-aircraft missile complex of American production.”

Ukrainian officials said on Tuesday that they had successfully intercepted all six hypersonic missiles launched by the Russians, while the Ukrainian military declined to comment on Russia’s claim that the Patriot system had been hit.

“We cannot comment on this. We refrain from commenting on Russian sources,” said Serhii Ignat, spokesman for the Air Force of Ukraine.

How many Patriot systems are there in Ukraine

Currently, Ukraine has two Patriot air defense systems, one provided by the US and the other jointly provided by Germany and the Netherlands. It is unclear which of these systems may have been damaged.

Russia also targeted Patriot systems with hypersonic missiles in an attack on May 4, US officials told CNN last week. That attack failed, and the Ukrainians successfully intercepted the missile before it hit the Patriot, officials said.

However, U.S. officials believe the Russians managed to pick up signals emitted by the Patriot, allowing them to target the system with a hypersonic missile known as the Kinjal (or Killjoy, by NATO code).

The Patriot missile system has a powerful radar to detect approaching targets at long range, making it a powerful air defense platform capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and more. But the radar radiation needed to detect threats at a distance also allows an adversary to detect a Patriot battery and determine where it is. And unlike some of the shorter-range air defense systems supplied to Ukraine, which are mobile and harder to hit, the Patriot large battery is a heavier system and is stationary, allowing the Russians to localize it over time.

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