Russia is ‘surprised and embarrassed’ that Ukraine has shot down its ‘unstoppable’ missiles

Russia is “extremely concerned” and “embarrassed” after Ukrainian air defenses shot down several of its “unstoppable” hypersonic missiles. That is what the British Ministry of Defense has said.

Ukraine claimed its robust air defense system, made up of Soviet-era and Western-supplied weapons, managed to successfully shoot down 18 Moscow missiles, six of which were allegedly hypersonic “Kinzhal” missiles that Vladimir Putin once boasted were ‘unstoppable’.

It comes in response to Russia’s drone and missile strike on Ukraine’s capital yesterday morning, hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he intended to return from a European tour with a fully restocked arsenal of weapons.

Since early May, Russia has been trying to use its Killjoy ballistic missile system to attack Ukraine’s air defenses.

The first successful shooting down of one of the missiles occurred on May 3.

The missile strike came hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he intended to return from a European tour with a fully refilled arsenal of weapons.

Since then, Russia has fallen prey to Ukraine’s air defenses, including on May 13, when four Russian Air and Space Force (VKS) aircraft, comprising two advanced fighters and two helicopters, were shot down over the Bryansk region of Russia.

In a tweet this morning, the Ministry of Defense said: ‘The increased air threat over the Russian border area will be of exceptional concern to the VKS as it uses the area to launch air power in support of the war effort.

“The apparent vulnerability of KILLJOY is probably a surprise and an embarrassment to Russia: Russian President Vladimir Putin has touted the system as unbeatable.”

However, Russia has made efforts to deny the failures of the Kinzhal missiles.

It came as the US admitted that its $1.1 billion Patriot system in use by Ukrainian forces was likely damaged after a Russian missile strike on Kiev.

But an official who spoke on condition of anonymity denied it was destroyed by a Russian attack and could likely be repaired in Ukraine.

Russia sent Putin’s defense minister Sergei Shoigu to deny Kiev’s claim that it had downed six Kinzhal or Dagger missiles.

Putin has previously claimed that the Mach 10 system cannot be stopped by the West’s air and missile defense systems.

Rescue workers extinguish a fire after a rocket attack, in Kyiv (Kiev), Ukraine, May 16, 2023, amid the Russian invasion

Shoigu said, “I have already said it and I will repeat it again.

“We have not launched as many Kinzhals as they would have shot down with their statements….

And it is still a big question who really controls the American complexes there.

“They always make mistakes with the type of missiles. That’s why they don’t hit.’

It’s impossible to know the truth, but Shoigu’s appearance confirms the importance for the Kremlin to emphasize to the Russian public that their hypersonic arsenal is unstoppable.

Russia claimed that in its largest rocket bombardment of Kiev to date, it launched a massive attack on the deployment points of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as stockpiles of ammunition, weapons and equipment supplied from Western countries.

In particular, the Kinzhal hypersonic missile “destroyed” the US Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in Kiev.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hailed an “incredible success” in shooting down six Kinzhals with the US-made Patriot-MIM 104 missile systems.

But a Russian source told RIA Novosti state media: “Because of the speed of the Kinzhal, the American SAMs were suddenly hit from an aerial ambush – the enemy combat teams could not do anything to protect their anti-aircraft systems.”