CNN
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A US-made Patriot air defense system was likely damaged, but not destroyed, as a result of a Russian missile strike in and around Kiev early Tuesday morning local time, a US official told CNN .
The United States is still assessing the extent of damage to the system, the official said. This will determine whether Ukrainian forces must remove the system entirely or simply repair it in place.
Russia’s defense ministry said in a Telegram post on Tuesday that “a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kiev hit a US-made Patriot anti-aircraft missile system.”
A spokesman for the US National Security Council referred CNN to the Ukrainian government for comment.
Ukrainian officials said Tuesday they successfully intercepted all six hypersonic missiles fired by the Russians, but the Ukrainian military declined to comment on the Russians’ claim that a Patriot system was hit. “We cannot comment on this. We will stay out of commenting on Russian sources,” Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said.
Ukraine currently has two Patriot air defense systems in the country, one donated by the US and the other jointly donated by Germany and the Netherlands. It is unclear which of these systems was potentially damaged, but taking one out of service, even for a short period, could affect Ukraine’s ability to defend Kiev amid intensified Russian missile attacks.
Russia has targeted Patriot systems with hypersonic missiles before, US officials told CNN last week, including once on May 4. That attack failed and the Ukrainians successfully intercepted the missile before it could hit the Patriot, officials said.
After extensive lobbying by the Ukrainians to provide them with the sophisticated air defense system, the US spent 10 weeks training Ukrainian troops on how to maintain and operate it. American and Western officials were pleasantly surprised at how quickly the Ukrainians learned to operate the Patriots, which arrived in Ukraine last month.
Another US official said it is possible the missile barrage hit one of several components of the Patriot battery. A complete Patriot battery has six main components: generators, a radar set, a control station, antennas, a launch station and interceptor missiles. The components work together to fire a Patriot missile and successfully guide it to its target.
But extensive damage to one or more components may force Ukraine to take the system offline and out of the country for more extensive repairs.
The Patriot has a powerful radar to detect incoming targets at long range, making it a powerful air defense platform capable of intercepting ballistic missiles and more. But the radar emission needed to detect threats at a distance also allows the enemy to detect the Patriot battery and learn its location.
US officials believe the Russian military has been able to pick up the signals being emitted from the Patriot, allowing them to target the system using the hypersonic missile, known as the Kinzhal or Killjoy. And unlike some shorter-range air defenses provided to Ukraine that are mobile and harder to target, the Patriot Large Battery is a larger, more stationary system, making it possible for Russian forces to focus on location with the pass of time.
