HISTORY

of units produced. The biggest attack took place

on March 9 this year, when the Russians fired

six missiles of this type at Ukraine. At least

two missiles were lost last year. One Kinzhal

apparently crashed due to a malfunction while

still on Russian territory, another was destroyed

when its carrier, a MiG-31, crashed last October

while taking off from Belbek airfield in occupied

Crimea.

The first kill

Now, for the first time, Ukrainian air defences

have also destroyed Kinzhal. It happened early

in the morning of May 4 over Kiev. The Economist

magazine talked about it with 30-year-old

Ukrainian Patriot operator Vyacheslav. He said

that according to the manual, it was possible to

destroy the Kinzhal, but he was only convinced

when the order was given to fire the missile and

the shoot-down was confirmed. Applause, joy

and much swearing followed. Vyacheslav also

noticed that the Kinzhal was flying about three

times slower than the Russian propaganda

communicated. “We have understood Patriot

works. The next time, when we saw not one but

six Kinzhals on our displays, it was just a matter

of routine,” he told The Economist.

Vyacheslav underwent a shortened training

that lasted three and a half months. He first

trained in Oklahoma, USA, and then in Poland.

A long list of achievements of the Ukrainian air defense battery.

However, according to the Ukrainians, even

this training was too long. After all, Western

systems are more automated and there is

nothing exceptionally complex about their

operation. “The IRIS-T is much less complicated

system than the Buk system I was operating

before. It’s like switching from a calculator

to a MacBook Pro. Western air defense

batteries basically do the work for you," The

Economist quoted Denis Smazny, training

coordinator for IRIS-T and NASAMS, as saying.

The debris of the Kinzhal, whose shooting down

on May 4 was mentioned by Vyacheslav, fell on

a playground. Photos of the debris appeared

on social networks. At first, Kiev denied the

shoot-down because it did not want to reveal

its capabilities to the enemy. However, the

Ukraine officials eventually confirmed it. The

wreckage of the Kinjal was put on display in

Kiev. According to some doubters, they do not

A Ukrainian operator prepares a Patriot battery for action.

Illustrative photo of a MiG-31 with a Kinzhal missile underneath.

July 2023

Wreckage of the Kinzhal on display in Kiev.

INFO Eduard

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