Ukraine had until recently lacked the capability to intercept Kinzhals and had pressed allies for Patriot systems. Only two such systems are believed to be in Ukraine, and the weapons are considered crucial to the anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of its territory. Several dozen Ukrainian soldiers this year took a crash course on using the Patriot, training on U.S. soil.
A single interceptor missile from the Patriot costs about $4 million, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Each launcher costs around $10 million. Some analysts consider the system far from foolproof, and there is some debate about its true shoot-down rate.
Russia has targeted the Patriot before. On May 4, Ukraine’s Air Force said it had intercepted a Kinzhal — using the very Patriot system being targeted — for the first time since the war broke out in February 2022. Three senior U.S. officials confirmed that shoot-down and said they had received information about the strike from the Ukrainian military. One official added that U.S. military analysts had verified the claim using technical means.
Tuesday’s attack on Kyiv was the eighth large-scale assault on the city this month. The barrage was extraordinary in the number of missiles launched over a short period, said Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv’s military administration. Ukrainian officials said the attacks were aimed at exhausting their air defenses.
The sky over Kyiv lit up around 3 a.m. Tuesday with thunderous explosions as air defenses collided with the incoming missiles, raining debris across the city. At least three people were injured, according to the city’s mayor, Vitali Klitschko. Cars caught fire, a building was damaged, and debris fell onto the grounds of the Kyiv Zoo, Mr. Klitschko said. None of the animals or workers were injured, he said.
Russia also launched nine Kalibr cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea, three short-range ballistic missiles from land and a number of drones, according to the commander in chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces.
The aerial assault on Kyiv came amid reports that the head of Ukraine’s Supreme Court, Vsevolod Knyazev, had been detained after he was accused of a corruption scheme in which he had received $2.7 million in bribes. A prosecutor confirmed the arrest during a news briefing and said that others were also under investigation.
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