Pentagon confirms downing of Russian 'hypersonic' missile by Ukraine

The Pentagon confirmed the downing of a Russian "hypersonic" Kinzhal missile by Ukrainian air defenses on Thursday, in a Tuesday US Defense Department briefing.

"I can confirm that they did down a Russian missile by employing the Patriot missile defense system," said Pentagon Press Secretary Brig.-Gen. Pat Ryder, later clarifying that he indeed said this in relation to a Kinzhal.

Ryder said that he wouldn't get into the specifics or characterization of the shooting down of the Kinzhal as the first intercept of a hypersonic missile in combat. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kremlin officials had in the past described the air-launched ballistic missile as a hypersonic weapon that Western air defenses wouldn't be able to intercept due to its extreme speed and maneuverability. NATO and US reports cast doubt on the otherwise formidable weapon as a true hypersonic weapon. 

While initially there were mixed messages from the Ukrainian military immediately after the missile's downing, the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed on Saturday that a Kinzhal had been downed for the first time since they had been used against Ukraine. 

The Kinzhal missile was first used in combat in March against a Ukrainian position and has been used several more times during the war, according to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. 

"The Patriot system, a new powerful tool of Ukrainian air defense, shot down a Kh-47 hypersonic aeroballistic missile launched by Russian war criminals at our country," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov wrote on Sunday. "Previously, we had no way of destroying such targets, but with the support of our friends the impossible becomes possible!"

The Pentagon and Ukrainian air defenses in the Ukraine-Russia War

The vulnerability of Ukrainian air defenses has come into question in recent months with the leak of Pentagon papers. The intelligence documents indicated that Kyiv was fast depleting its Russian-origin anti-air munitions and that Western allies were rushing to rearm Ukraine with NATO air defense weapons. 

"We're going to continue to rush ground-based air defense capabilities and munitions to help Ukraine control its sovereign skies and to help Ukraine defend its citizens from Russian cruise missiles and Iranian drones," Ryder said on Tuesday night. "And again, as evidenced by today's USAI (Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative) announcement and the procurement of additional air defense systems and munitions, this is something that we're going to keep after both in the near term and the long term."

The Pentagon announced on Tuesday a $1.2 billion defense package that included air defense systems and munitions, equipment to integrate western launchers, missiles and radars into Ukraine's systems, as well as ammunition for anti-drone weaponry.