As reported by the American television company CNN on May 16, 2023, the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system supplied to the armed forces of Ukraine was probably damaged, although not destroyed, as a result of the shelling of Kiev and its environs by Russian missiles in the early morning of May 16, local time. This was reported to CNN by a US official
A snapshot of a possible hit by a Russian aviation hypersonic missile of the Dagger complex on a target near Kiev, 05/16/2023 (c) Telegram channel "Donbass Partisan"According to CNN, according to this official, the US is still assessing to what extent the Patriot system has been damaged.
This will determine whether the system needs to be completely shut down (apparently to be sent for repair outside of Ukraine) or whether it can simply be repaired on the spot by Ukrainian forces. Another US representative said that it was possible that the rocket attack hit one of several elements of the Patriot air defense system battery.
On the afternoon of May 16, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in a summary of the course of a special military operation in Ukraine, stated that "tonight the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a concentrated strike with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons at the locations of the AFU units, as well as storage sites for ammunition, weapons and military equipment delivered from Western countries. The target of the strike has been achieved. All assigned objects are hit.
The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system manufactured by the USA was hit by a high-precision strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kiev."
According to unofficial data disseminated by online sources, based, among other things, on video footage of a Russian missile strike on Ukrainian air defense facilities in the Kiev area, presumably, at least two Patriot missile launchers at Kiev's Zhuliany airport were hit by a Dagger missile strike. It is unclear how many Dagger missiles were used in total and how many of them managed to hit targets (it is reported that there were three strong explosions in Kiev). The APU announced the interception of allegedly six Dagger missiles, which looks very doubtful.
Video materials confirm the use of a significant number (up to 30-32) of Patriot PAC-3 anti-aircraft missiles from the Zhulyan area during the repulse of the Russian strike. Along with photos of fallen PAC-3 anti-aircraft missiles in Kiev, this confirms the receipt by the APU of modern missiles (anti-missiles) of this type of PAC-3 (belonging to the first CRI modification), which was not previously reported.
To date, the armed forces of Ukraine have received two Patriot air defense systems batteries, which in the air forces of Ukraine, according to the Soviet tradition of the organization, are called "divisions". The first battery transferred from the German Air Force, and supplemented by two launchers from the armed forces of the Netherlands, was officially declared by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine as commissioned on April 19. The second battery, transferred from the US Army training units, was declared operational from April 26. It can be assumed that the "American" battery is equipped with RAS-3 anti-missiles and that it was she who became the target of the Russian attack on the night of May 16.
Patriot PAC-3 CRI (c) AP and CNN anti-missiles that fell in Kiev on the night of May 16, 2023 Video of the Patriot air defense system (with PAC-3 CRI missiles)
The APU in Kiev is waiting for the reflection of a missile strike on the night of May 16, the fall of missiles fired by the air defense system, and the alleged defeat of the Patriot air defense system position by the Dagger missile system:
