The Russian military has so far failed to destroy a single Patriot air defense system in Ukraine. This was stated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday evening.
“Whoever is there in Russia is not telling us that our Patriots are supposedly destroyed, they all exist, they all work, they all shoot down Russian missiles. And they shoot down as effectively as possible. Not a single Patriot has been destroyed!” – The Ukrainian president said in a video message.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on June 16 that Russia had allegedly destroyed five Patriot systems near Kyiv and could destroy any building in the center of Kyiv – but for a number of reasons it did not. On the same day, a missile strike was launched against Kyiv and the Kyiv region – the Ukrainian military said it had shot down, among other things, six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. The Russian Defense Ministry said the strike destroyed a “decision-making center”, but gave no details. Ukrainian sources did not report that any important facility had been hit.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry had twice claimed the destruction of the Patriot systems in Kyiv with Kinzhal missiles. It is not clear where Putin got the information about five complexes (it was not even reported that so many were delivered to Ukraine). The Ukrainian Air Force, however, also denied claims that at least one Patriot was destroyed.
The U.S., the country that produced the Patriots, admitted that one of the systems was probably damaged in the May 16 missile attack. Subsequently, however, the White House stated that it had already been repaired.
