Has Ukraine shot down 'unstoppable' Putin missile?
Experts say wreckage suggests a hypersonic Kinzhal has been downed
Ukraine is suspected of shooting down Russia's prized Kh-47 Kinzhal missile
Russia launched series of missiles at Ukraine over drone strike on Kremlin
By WILL STEWART
PUBLISHED: 00:02 AEST, 6 May 2023 | UPDATED: 01:17 AEST, 6 May 2023
Ukraine is suspected of shooting down an 'unstoppable' Russian hypersonic missile in what would be a major blow to Vladimir Putin.
The air-launched missile was aimed at Kyiv in the early hours of Thursday after a drone strike on the Kremlin - but it is believed to have been downed by Ukraine.
Ukrainian military experts say the wreckage at the site suggests the downed missile was Russia's prized Kh-47 Kinzhal - or Dagger - hypersonic missile.
The Kyiv armed forces may have used a US-supplied Patriot system to down the suspected Kinzhal, experts said.
The 24ft-long, one-ton Kinzhal can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and Russia has boasted that the missile has no match among Western defences.
Ukrainian military experts say the wreckage left at the site suggests that the downed missile was Russia's prized Kh-47 Kinzhal - or Dagger - hypersonic missile
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Ukrainian military experts say the wreckage left at the site suggests that the downed missile was Russia's prized Kh-47 Kinzhal - or Dagger - hypersonic missile
The Kyiv armed forces may have used a US-supplied Patriot system to down the suspected Kinzhal (pictured), experts said
The Kyiv armed forces may have used a US-supplied Patriot system to down the suspected Kinzhal (pictured), experts said
The 24-foot-long, one-ton Kinzhal (file image) can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and Russia has boasted that the missile has no match among Western defences
+6
View gallery
The 24-foot-long, one-ton Kinzhal (file image) can carry conventional or nuclear warheads, and Russia has boasted that the missile has no match among Western defences
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If Ukrainian forces did down the Kinzhal, it would be the first time such a missile has been shot down.
READ MORE: Putin is seen in the Kremlin for the first time since building came under kamikaze drone attack
Specialist Defense Express website said: 'One of the photos shows the nose cone, which is as similar as possible to the one used in the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile with a complex shape of sharp diameter transitions.
'The wreckage shows that it sustained penetration damage, which allows us to estimate the thickness of the material needed to withstand the high temperature during acceleration to hypersonic speeds.
'It also indicates that the intercept was quite effective, with the warhead destroyed in midair.
'This explains the powerful explosion heard by Kyiv residents on the night of 4 May.'
The site said: 'Outdated Soviet air defence systems are not capable of shooting down such a missile…
'In most cases, defeating such a target is possible only with the help of the Patriot PAC-3 air defence system with a PAC-3 MSE kinetic interceptor.
'The hole in the wreckage… indicates the possible use of such a missile.'
Russian war sites have strongly disputed the Ukrainian claim as 'nonsense'.
'Ukrainian military experts are trying to pass off the image of a water pipe as the wreckage of a rocket,' said one.
The Kinzhal can be fired from the MiG-31, Tu-160 or Tu-22M3M warplanes, and it has been used by Moscow in the war.
It has a range of 1,250 miles and its conventional version was deployed for the first time against Ukraine in March 2022.
Russian forces had launched a barrage of missiles at Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the early hours of Thursday after two drones struck the Kremlin in a strike Russia has blamed on Ukraine and the US.