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Hypersonic interception

Hypersonic interception

 “Listen to us now,” Putin said in 2018, showing off Russia’s newest high-accuracy hypersonic cruise missiles and claiming they could not be brought down by any air defence system. Huge fireballs crossed the screen behind him as the missiles targeted Florida on a world map. On Monday night, fireballs crossed the sky over Kyiv in a salvo of 18 missiles, including hypersonic ones. All were shot down, Ukraine’s General Zaluzhny said. Such a massive attack suggests Moscow is trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defence systems – which now include German Iris-T and US Patriot batteries. Russia claimed to destroy one of the Patriots; Ukraine declined to comment. What Ukraine has proved is that Putin was wrong about his missiles.


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