MOSCOW. May 11 (Interfax) - A high-ranking Russian Defense Ministry source has denied reports that the Ukrainian army managed to intercept a Kinzhal hypersonic missile, calling them false and "wishful thinking."
"The fact is, the flight speed of the Kinzhal missile exceeds the combat limits of the air defense missile systems the West has delivered to the Kiev regime, including the Patriot," the source said.
"The evasive maneuver performed by the Kinzhal during the terminal phase of its flight and the almost vertical homing trajectory rules out any chance that this weapon can be intercepted by air defense missile systems," the source said.
"This is not the first time that they've claimed to have intercepted our missiles. Moreover, the number of such interceptions is twice or three times higher than what we have actually fired. And by the way, it's not about the missiles that arrive. They're doing this in order to justify overspending munitions for Western air defense systems, thus exaggerating their efficiency. The problem is, after each of our combat missions, the West urgently sends the Kiev regime new air defense systems. It's clear why - to replace them," the source said.
As reported officially, the Kinzhal is an aircraft armed with a precision-guided hypersonic air-ballistic missile, based on an upgraded version of the MiG-31 long-range interceptor fighter. According to the Russian military, the Kinzhal is capable of striking targets at ranges of over 2,000 kilometers, and is guaranteed to overcome both all existing air defense and missile defense systems and those currently being developed.
The Russian military has reported the use of the Kinzhal system during the special military operation in Ukraine.