The Ministry of Defense of Russia on Thursday denied the shooting down of a Kinjal hypersonic missile in Ukraine announced at the beginning of May and stated that Western anti-missile systems are not capable of stopping this type of projectile, EFE and Agerpres report.

A high-ranking official of the Ministry of Defense told several Russian mass media that the news about Ukraine’s downing of the “Kinzhal” was a “lie” and “an attempt to present wishful thinking as reality.”

“The problem is that the speed of the Kinjal missile exceeds the limits of the anti-missile systems provided by the West to the Kyiv regime, including the Patriot,” he said.

According to the military representative, “on the last part of the flight, the Kinzhal missile performs an anti-missile maneuver, which includes an almost vertical approach to the target, which excludes interception by anti-aircraft missile systems.”

“This is not the first time they claim to have intercepted our missiles. The number of interceptions is two to three times higher than our dismissals,” he said.

The representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense also claimed that it is necessary for the Ukrainian side to “justify the excessive use of missiles of Western air defense systems” and to obtain them in larger quantities.

Earlier, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleschuk said that on May 4, the Ukrainian air defense system shot down a Russian missile “Kinzhal” (“Dagger”) with the help of the American Patriot system, the information was later confirmed by the Pentagon spokesman Patrick S. Ryder. .

Read on this topic:

• PHOTO Premiere: Ukrainians allegedly shot down the Kinzhal missile, a supersonic weapon that Putin called “invincible” – press
• The Air Force of Ukraine no longer denies and admits what happened on the night from Wednesday to Thursday: “The reasons are completely clear!”
• Did the Patriot system shoot down a Russian hypersonic missile? Americans think so / What this means for the Pentagon
• After the takeoff of the MiG-31K bomber, capable of launching the “incomparable” Kinjal supersonic missile, an air alert was declared throughout Ukraine
• The reaction of the Ukrainian army after a new blow to Vladimir Putin’s pride

Hypersonic missiles, the pride of Vladimir Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly emphasized that he is investing in hypersonic missiles and that they will be “invincible,” but what exactly are they?

Moscow claims that these missiles fly at extremely high speeds – Mach 10 or 12,000 km per hour – and that, combined with maneuverability, is extremely difficult or impossible to intercept.

“A hypersonic missile has greater penetration and destructive power due to its very high speed,” military analyst Vasyl Kacine explains.

The statistics are impressive: according to Russian officials, the Kinjal is capable of hitting targets at a distance of more than 2,000 km.

However, some Western military experts believe that Russia may be exaggerating the capabilities of its hypersonic air-to-ground weapons.

Last December, Putin boasted that Russia leads the world in hypersonic missiles, which are difficult to track because they can change direction in flight.

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