US is confident that Ukraine shot down Russian Kinzhal missile with Patriot system

CNN reported the information, citing an informed source.

"While the Patriot system has been successful in countering ballistic missiles, its ability to stop air-launched hypersonic missiles was purely theoretical before last week. Ukraine’s intercept has now provided a real-world demonstration of that capability — something that has been viewed within the Pentagon as a major development," the outlet writes.

The journalists explained why the intercept of the Kinzhal created buzz in the Pentagon.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has been publicly touting the capabilities of Russian hypersonic weapons and claiming that they can overcome all existing air defense systems. 

"But prior to last week, Russia’s calculus was that if it did use a hypersonic ballistic missile, whatever it was shooting at would assuredly get hit, the source said. This intercept has called that calculation into question," CNN noted.

The fact that the intercept was carried out by a Ukrainian crew that had been trained in Oklahoma but had no American advisors on the battlefield convinced the Pentagon that it had not given Ukraine the systems for nothing, the source told reporters.

The interception also likely caused serious uncertainty for Russia, raising the question of whether Ukraine has a sustainable means of countering hypersonic ballistic missiles, the outlet concluded.

• Last week, the Air Force announced they shot down a Russian Kinzhal missile.