Russia Ukraine war latest: Putin’s Kyiv strikes ‘damaged US Patriot system’

The wave of Russian strikes has likely caused damage to the US-made Patriot missile defence system being used by Ukraine, two US officials said on Tuesday, adding that it did not appear to have been destroyed.

Washington and Kyiv were already talking about the best way to repair the system and at this point it did not appear the system would have to be removed from Ukraine, one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.

The official added that the US would have a better understanding in the coming days and information could change over time.

This comes just hours after Russia’s defence ministry said it had destroyed a US-built Patriot surface-to-air missile defence system with a “hypersonic” Kinzhal missile in an overnight strike on Ukraine but did not share more details.

Vladimir Putin had issued a clear threat to damage and “weed out” the West-supplied Patriot anti-missile defence system to Ukraine.

Ukraine shot down 18 Russian missiles overnight, including an entire volley of six Kinzhals. It was not clear which Western weapon Ukraine used.

When asked about the Ukrainian claim, Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu dismissed it. The Pentagon had no immediate comment.

The Patriot is one of the most advanced US air defence systems, designed to work against a mix of aircraft, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles. It typically includes launchers along with radar and other support vehicles.

South Korea will provide a $130m (£104m) financial aid package to Kyiv after Ukraine’s first lady visited Seoul to seek military assistance.

South Korea’s finance ministry said minister Choo Kyung-ho and Ukrainian economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko, in Seoul to attend a conference, signed the agreement on the package, which will consist of donations and aid loans.

South Korea, a major producer of artillery shells, has said it was not providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing its relations with Russia.

But South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol said in an interview with Reuters last month his government might not “insist only on humanitarian or financial support” if civilians in Ukraine come under a large-scale attack or because of a “situation the international community cannot condone”.

Russian forces are expending more weapons than usual in order to overwhelm and confuse Ukrainian air defences, a US official familiar with the matter told CNN.

The expanded attacks seen this week may even work to Ukraine’s advantage, the official said, as the move forced Russia to scrape deeper into its restricted supply of precision munitions.

Moscow has tried to target command and control centres in Kyiv and other high-value locations, the official said, as seen yesterday when Russia launched larger aerial attacks comprising drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles overnight from north, south and east direction in one go.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky bolstered his bid to seek more support for Ukraine as he spoke at the fourth summit of the Council of Europe and said that the war-hit nation is able to achieve battlefield successes unimaginable last year.

“A year ago, we were not able to shoot down most of the terrorists’s missiles, especially ballistic ones. And I am asking one thing now: if we’re able to do this, is there anything we can’t do when we’re united and determined to protect lives? The answer is that we, in unity, will give one hundred per cent in any field – when we have a goal to protect our people and our Europe,” Mr Zelensky said.

He presented Ukraine’s “historic” feat of downing cruise and ballistic missiles as he addressed the leaders virtually at the summit.

“Today, Ukraine went through a difficult challenge – an intense Russian missile attack. Such challenges are what we all have to pay attention to now,” he said.

“At three o’clock in the morning, our people woke up to explosions… Eighteen Russian missiles of different types were in our sky – in particular, ballistic ones, which the terrorist state has boasted about. We were told such missiles would bring a guaranteed death, because they are supposedly impossible to shoot down,” Mr Zelensky said.

The war-time president said Russia used ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as drones, all at the same time – “to make it especially difficult for our air defence to save lives. But all lives were protected – all missiles were shot down, including ballistic ones. One hundred per cent! This is a historical result,” he said.

Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has said the number of claimed Ukrainian missile intercepts in general is “three times greater than the number we [Moscow] launch”.

“And they get the type of missiles wrong all the time. That’s why they don’t hit them,” he said, without elaborating.

Ukraine said it had shot down six Russian Kinzhal missiles in a single night, taking down a weapon Moscow has branded as a next-generation hypersonic missile that was all but unstoppable.

Britain’s willingness to step first unto the breach over military support has spurred wider Western action, writes Kim Sengupta. The Ukrainian president needs that now more than ever.

Ukraine claims to have shot down a volley of Russian hypersonic missiles – one of Moscow‘s most potent weapons – during an attack on the capital Kyiv described as “exceptional in density”.

It is the first time Ukraine has claimed to have struck down multiple Kinzhal – which means “dagger” in Russian – missiles in one go. If confirmed it would be a demonstration of the effectiveness of Kyiv’s newly deployed Western air defences in helping thwart some of Russia’s most advanced weaponry.

President Vladimir Putin has previously claimed that the Kinzhal would be able to “overcome all existing and … prospective anti-aircraft and anti-missile defence systems”.

The noise that repeatedly filled the air early this morning was extraordinary: shuddering, horribly percussive waves of sound that burrow down through your chest and into your stomach, writes Kit Macdonald.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol vowed to expand the country’s non-lethal aid to Kyiv when he met with Ukraine’s first lady Tuesday in Seoul.

Olena Zelenska visited South Korea as a special envoy of President Volodymyr Zelensky. During her meeting with Yoon, Zelenska requested South Korea expand its support of non-lethal military supplies, including equipment for detecting and removing mines and ambulance vehicles, according to Yoon’s office.

Yoon replied that his government would closely coordinate with NATO and other international partners to “actively support the Ukrainian people,” his spokesperson Lee Do Woon said during a briefing.