Ukraine claims to have intercepted six Kinzhal missiles

Ukraine claims to have shot down six Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles that attacked Kiev, on the day a group of African leaders were visiting the capital.

The Ukrainian Emergency Service (SES) said that Russia carried out airstrikes on Kiev on June 16, destroying three houses and damaging 13 buildings. No casualties were reported in the capital Kiev, but the attack injured six people in other parts of Kiev Oblast.

The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, six cruise missiles and two drones used by Russia. The SES said fragments of the Russian missiles fell after being intercepted by air defense systems.

People take shelter in a metro station during an airstrike on Kiev on June 16. Photo: AFP

The attack came as African leaders arrived in Kiev to discuss a peaceful solution to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Air raid sirens sounded across Kiev as the African delegation arrived in the city.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called it the biggest Russian missile attack on Kiev in weeks. "Russian missiles send a message to Africa that they want war, not peace," Kuleba tweeted.

Russia has not responded to Ukraine's accusations but has repeatedly affirmed that it only attacks military targets, not civilian targets.

The presidents of six African countries, Zambia, Senegal, the Republic of Congo, Uganda, Egypt and South Africa, formed a delegation in May to seek a peaceful solution for Ukraine. The president of Comoros, which holds the chair of the African Union (AU), later announced that he would join the delegation. After arriving in Ukraine, the delegation is scheduled to visit Russia on June 17.

MiG-31K fighter jet carrying Kinzhal missile flies over Red Square in Moscow in May 2018. Photo: Kremlin .

Ukraine also claimed in May that it had shot down six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles used by Russia in its attack on Kiev. However, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the number of Kinzhal missiles launched at Kiev was much smaller than the six claimed by Ukraine.

Shoigu also said that Ukrainian forces "regularly make mistakes" about the types of missiles deployed by Russia. "That's why they don't hit the target," he said on May 16.

Hypersonic missiles are weapons with a minimum speed of 5 times faster than sound, equivalent to more than 6,200 km/h. Thanks to complex flight trajectories and very high speeds, hypersonic weapons have higher lethality and are very difficult to intercept with current defense shields. The Kinzhal hypersonic missile is one of 6 super weapons announced by Russian President Putin in 2018.

Ngoc Anh (According to CNN/AFP )

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