In a significant triumph against Russian aggression, Ukraine successfully destroyed a barrage of six Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missiles in one night, thwarting Moscow’s highly touted super weapon.
The news comes as European leaders meet during a two-day Council of Europe summit in Iceland starting Tuesday, aimed at showing support for Ukraine. If confirmed, it showcases the effectiveness of Ukraine’s recently deployed Western air defense systems, Reuters reports.
What Happened: Air raid sirens rang out across almost the entire country Tuesday morning.
Ukraine General Serhiy Naev, Commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces, stated that "the enemy's mission is to sow panic and create chaos."
In the northern operational zone, including Kyiv, "everything is under complete control," Reuters added.
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said the entire volley of Kinzhals had been obliterated, according to the publication.
The six Kinzhals were 18 of the air, land and sea missiles fired by Russia into Ukraine overnight –all of which Kyiv said it destroyed.
In addition to the super weapons, Kyiv claims to have shot down nine Kalibr cruise missiles that Russia deployed from ships stationed in the Black Sea as well as three Iskanders missiles that were fired from land.
The Kinzhal missiles are capable of carrying conventional and nuclear warheads a distance of 1,242 miles at up to 10 times the speed of sound.
Russian President Vladimir Putin previously claimed that the missiles could take on NATO, referring to the missiles as a "world beater."
Moscow claims to have demolished a U.S.-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defense system using the missiles,
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
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