Explained | Ukraine downs Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Here’s all you need to know

Ukraine announced on Saturday that it has downed a Russian hypersonic Kinzhal missile for the first time amid continuous attacks by Moscow that took place in the night between last Wednesday and Thursday in Kyiv.

The downing of Russian hypersonic missiles is being seen as a major setback to Russia's campaign of long-range air strikes.

The Ukraine Air Force announced that they shot down the Kh-47 Kinzhal missile in the skies of Kyiv using a US Patriot air defence system in the skies at around 2:30 am on Thursday (2330 GMT Wednesday).

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"I congratulate the Ukrainian people on the historic event," said Ukrainian Air Force Commander General Mykola Oleshchuk on Telegram. "Yes, we shot down the 'unparallelled' Kinzhal'missile," he added.

The US Patriot system is among an array of sophisticated air defence units which was supplied to Ukraine by the West to repel Russia's month-long campaign of air strikes which had targeted the country's power facilities, critical infrastructure, and other sites.

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What is a Kinzhal missile?

The word Kinzhal means "dagger" in Russian. Kinzhal missile is among the six "next generation" weapons which President Vladimir Putin had unveiled in 2018 and had boasted as one of those missiles which cannot be shot down by any air defence systemof the world.

Putin had termed Kinzhal missile as "an ideal weapon" that the missile defences find extremely difficult to intercept.

According to the Russian military, the ballistic missile boasts a range of up to 2,000km (1,250 miles) and flies 10 times faster than the speed of sound which makes it difficult to intercept.

The ballistic missile is capable of carrying conventional or nuclear warheads. Kinzhal missile is 8 metres long, has a body diameter of 1 metrer, and its launch weight is approximately 4,300 kg.

The missile has been designed to be launched using MiG-31 fighter jets from an altitude of about 18 km (59,000 ft). During all stages of the flight, this missile manoeuvres to overcome hostile air defence systems.

How much damage can a Kinzhal missile cause?

Although Russia has claimed that the missile is among “next generation” systems, however, experts in the West say that these claims are exaggerated.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies states that “Russia’s designation of the Kinzhal as a ‘hypersonic’ missile is somewhat misleading, as nearly all ballistic missiles reach hypersonic speeds… at some point during their flight.”

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence said that the use of the Kinzhal was “likely intended to detract from a lack of progress in Russia’s ground campaign” and “unlikely to materially affect the outcome of Russia’s campaign” in Ukraine.

The major difference between Kinzhal and its purported predecessor is that the missile is launched using an airborne vehicle and not from the ground, which makes it less predictable and more difficult to intercept, and also more survivable compared to the Iskander ground system.

The Kinzhal missile can also be seen as a precision weapon which can easily strike key targets like command centres and with its high speed, the missile can easily penetrate even deeply buried bunkers. However, for achieving such a feat, good information about the target location is required.

Even though Kinzhal is considered as a dangerous weapon, most analysts agree that it is not very different from weapons which have been in use for decades.

Any previous use of Kinzhal for the attack was not previously disclosed by the Air Force, although Kyiv officials immediately stated that there has been an involvement of a ballistic missile.

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Ukraine's efforts to strengthen the air defence system

Ukraine also appealed to the Western allies to help in reinforcing the country's air defence system as its energy infrastructure has been pounded by Russia from the air over winter.

Ukraine in mid-April received the first Patriots which is considered as one of the most advanced air defence systems of the United States.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the system would "significantly" strengthen the defences of the country against Russian strikes.

Many civilians have lost their lives in the attacks which were escalated by Russia in October ahead of winter. The Russian strikes failed to

The strikes failed to paralyse the power grid but led to major power outages. Russia has constantly denied targeting civilians.

Russia made the air strikes on Thursday a day after it accused Ukraine of making a failed attempt to assassinate President Vladimir Putin through a drone attack over the Kremlin citadel in Moscow and said that it would retaliate.

Since then, Moscow has accused Washington of being involved in the assassination plan but the allegations were denied by both the United States and Ukraine.

The drone and missile attacks over regions of Ukraine have been intensified by Russia in the past week as Kyiv prepares for a counter-offensive against the Russian army who have dug in across occupied land in the south and east.

(With inputs from agencies)

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