A U.S.-made Patriot system took out five Russian aircraft within minutes earlier this year, Ukraine has confirmed, as Kyiv’s military doubles down on calls for air defense systems ahead of a likely winter blitz from Russia.
In July, Ukraine’s air force appeared to say that a Patriot system was responsible for destroying two Russian jets and three helicopters in just five minutes over Russia’s border Bryansk region in May 2023. Ukraine initially suggested that Russia’s own air defenses were responsible for the loss of the aircraft, before Kyiv published a video in early July that attributed the downing of the five aircraft to a Patriot air defense system on May 13.
In new comments to Ukrainian media on Monday, air force spokesperson Colonel Yuriy Ihnat said Ukrainian-operated Patriot units did destroy the five aircraft over Bryansk, thanks to “decisive actions” with the advanced air defense system.
“It was a brilliant operation led by the commander of the Air Force,” Ihnat told Ukrainian outlet Novynarnia, adding that Russia was using Bryansk to launch guided aerial bomb attacks on northern Ukraine.
Peter Mueller/Bundeswehr via Getty Images
Ukraine has received a handful of the Raytheon-made Patriot air defense systems from its Western allies, including one battery from the U.S. and another jointly from Germany and the Netherlands. Berlin said last month it would provide an additional Patriot system for the winter months, in the face of increased Russian missile and drone attacks.
The Patriots are considered the gold-standard of air defense. The mobile surface-to-air Patriots form part of the country’s shield against various air threats, working alongside other systems Ukraine uses to protect its skies.
The first Patriot system arrived in the war-torn country in mid-April, then-defense minister Oleksii Reznikov said at the time. “Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could,” he added.
In early May, Ukraine’s air force said Kyiv had successfully “brought down the ‘unparalleled Dagger,'” referring to Russia’s hypersonic Kinzhal missile. A Ukrainian air force spokesperson then said Ukraine had used a Patriot system to take down the hypersonic missile.
The Pentagon confirmed that Kyiv “did down a Russian missile by employing the Patriot missile defense system,” later specifying it to be a Kinzhal missile. This was denied by Russia.
Ukraine has now intercepted a total of 15 Russian Kinzhal missiles, Ihnat said on Monday, as well as “dozens” of other ballistic missiles heading for Kyiv.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian defense ministry for comment via email.
In June 2023, Raytheon’s chief executive officer, Greg Hayes, said the company had been “very surprised at its effectiveness,” adding that Kyiv would receive another five Patriot systems by the end of 2024. The company is upping its yearly production numbers to 12 Patriots, Hayes said.
Ukraine is bracing for a winter Russian missile and drone onslaught, widely expected to target the country’s critical infrastructure and energy networks.
“As winter approaches, there will be more Russian attempts to make the strikes more powerful,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month.
“These last months, Russia has been using its missiles sparingly and should again have accumulated a decent stock of them,” Frederik Mertens, a strategic analyst with the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, told Newsweek in late October. “Its most logical target would be Kyiv’s energy infrastructure and the most logical moment when it is needed the most,” he added.
“Our only chance is to replace Soviet equipment with modern equipment,” Ihnat said on Monday. “But there are not so many air defense systems in the world,” he added, calling for more modern, ground-based air defenses.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.