Massive Russian strikes killed at least nine people and damaged several Ukrainian infrastructures in the early hours of Thursday March 9. Ten of the 24 Ukrainian regions were hit by this wave of fire, the largest in several weeks, with 81 missiles of various types and eight “kamikaze drones”, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
This massive attack was the occasion for a new test of Ukrainian anti-aircraft defences. “The enemy used a wide range of weapons (…) to monopolize the attention of anti-aircraft defence, said the Ukrainian air force spokesman. He pointed out that the shots came from the Black Sea, the Sea of Azov and the Caspian Sea, among others.
“A difficult night”
“It was a difficult night”, responded Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to whom Ukraine managed to intercept 34 cruise missiles of the Kalibr, Kh-101 and Kh-555 type, as well as four kamikaze drones. In addition, the Ukrainian General Staff reports that “countermeasures” diverted eight Kh-31P and Kh-59 air-to-surface guided missiles from their targets.
The Ukrainian defenses, however, remained powerless against certain projectiles employed by Russia. “The Ukrainian armed forces do not have means capable of destroying the Kh-22, Kinjal and S-300”, they said. The Kh-22 and S-300 missiles should be capable of being intercepted by some anti-aircraft systems promised by Ukraine’s Western allies, such as the American Patriot batteries, whose delivery is expected ” in the near future “.
Kinjal hypersonic missiles are notable for their ability to swoop down on their targets at speeds in excess of Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound), making them extremely difficult to intercept. However, these projectiles are few in the Russian arsenal: less than fifty, according to estimates by Ukrainian military intelligence.
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