"Star Wars" in the Kyiv sky

UKRAINE - In Brief 16 May 2023 by Dmytro Boyarchuk

---

The night of May 16th in Kyiv was somewhat noisy, and the sky resembled battle scenes from the "Expansion" series or "Star Wars". In the morning, we learned from official reports that the Ukrainian air defense successfully repelled one of the most intense air strikes witnessed during the ongoing war. Six hypersonic  Kynzhal missiles and nine cruise missiles  Caliber were destroyed. In reality, the barrage consisted of a larger number of missiles and drones of various types, all of which were intercepted with a 100% success rate. The Ukrainian air defense's capability to neutralize hypersonic and advanced cruise missiles is a significant development that the Russians are unwilling to accept. The Russian stockpile reportedly contained nearly 40 hypersonic missiles, and their previous strikes consistently hit their targets, albeit in small numbers, ensuring a guaranteed outcome. However, the current situation is drastically different, which poses a significant challenge for the Kremlin amidst an unfolding counteroffensive. Perhaps the Russians initially regarded the successful interception of a Kynzhal hypersonic missile on May 4th as an accidental occurrence and decided to test the air defense system with a more powerful attack this time. Now, it has become evident that the defense capabilities are indeed robust. And another piece of positive news is that the Russian stock of hypersonic missiles Kynzhal has been substantially reduced. In the meantime, Ukrainian forces are pushing harder at the frontline. The news from Bahkmut has already hit the headline informing that Ukrainian forces are retaking the territory. But similar developments are happening in many other direc...