Air Force cautions against hype after Kinzhal downing, citing Ukraine's inadequate air defense capabilities
Ukraine still needs F-16 fighters that can shoot down aerial targets, he explained, noting that "We do have weapons against ballistics, which is what we have been asking our partners for a long time.”
Read also: Ukraine needs at least 20 Patriot air defense batteries, says military expert
“These are both Patriot and SAMP\T, capable of shooting down ballistic targets,” he said.
"And once Patriot systems are on combat duty, there is nothing left to do but test them. The Patriot has never worked with targets like this Kh-47 Kinzhal.”
Read also: First Patriot air defense system division is operational, says Air Force
Ihnat stated that in Russia, the Kh-47 Kinzhal missiles are presented as a "super weapon". They still cannot believe that the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to shoot down one of them.
Read also: Russia firing at Ukraine missiles made last fall or winter, Air Force says
"It's good that we have these kinds of weapons, but it's too early to rejoice because they are not enough," Ihnat added.
“We need many more of them, we need more of these systems to protect our big cities, infrastructure, and nuclear power facilities. We always emphasize to our Western partners that we need weapons against ballistic [missiles], first of all for this purpose, and it’s also better for long-range in terms of aerial targets.”
The spokesperson also noted that the Russians learned about the destruction of the missile prematurely, but admitted that it’s difficult to keep secrets in the modern world.
Overnight on May 3-4, the Air Force, using Patriot air defense systems, shot down a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile for the first time, dispelling the myth that it could not be destroyed.
Read also: Ukrainian Air Force denies reports Kinzhal hypersonic ballistic missile downed over Kyiv
On May 6, Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk confirmed that air defense had shot down the missile.
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