It sounded “like the biggest missile onslaught on Kyiv” on Monday night, according to author and resident Olexander Scherba. “Our air-defense [is] busy, busy, busy.” The nighttime sky lit up with flights of Russian missiles and Ukrainian air defenses trading blows in what another observer called an “unprecedented air defense show.”
Damage to the city seems to be very limited, despite having been attacked with what Kyiv says were six of Russia’s advanced (Moscow says “unstoppable“) Kinzhal missiles, nine Kalibr sea-launched cruise missiles, three Iskander-M missiles, and a half-dozen Iranian-made Shahed drones.
“It was exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” Kyiv military administration chief Serhiy Popkosaid wrote in a Telegram post on Tuesday. “The most significant destruction due to falling debris was in the Solomiansky district, where a non-residential building and several cars caught fire. The fire was extinguished,” reported another source.
More:
Massive number of outgoing Ukrainian SAMs during tonight’s Russian air raid on Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/G0sahlmTZo
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) May 16, 2023
Military analyst Rob Lee — one of my regular go-to guys for being well-informed, sharp, and apolitical — concluded last night that “Clearly, Russia launched a diversity of missiles and drones from different directions to try to confuse Ukrainian air defenses.” Nevertheless, Kyiv claims to have shot down every single one.
That claim is disputed by Russian sources, naturally.
Here’s video of Kyiv’s rapid-fire air defenses going to work:
At least 20 air defense missiles were launched from #kyiv over a 2 minute timespan. pic.twitter.com/UsV0VsMbK3
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— cameron (@csm231_) May 16, 2023
Russia’s Defense Ministry described it today as a “concentrated strike with long-range air and sea-based high-precision weapons” to destroy “military equipment delivered from Western countries.” Moscow claims to have destroyed an American MIM-104 Patriot antiair/antimissile battery on the ground. Given the success rate of the more modern versions of the Patriot, taking out that battery might have been the main focus of Monday’s attack.
Moscow’s claims to have destroyed a U.S.-supplied Patriot antimissile battery have been disputed unofficially by local sources via Twitter. Ukraine “refused to comment.”
Here’s video of what Moscow says was the Patriot system:
The official representative of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuriy Ignat, refused to comment on reports of the destruction of the American Patriot air defense system in Kiev. pic.twitter.com/X2WHTl7wFI
— Spriter (@Spriter99880) May 16, 2023
The heart of a Patriot battery is the radar set. If that was destroyed, it’s a serious blow. If one of the missile launchers — probably depleted by the time it was hit — was destroyed, it is much more easily and cheaply replaced.
Monday night’s blitz might have been launched in part as a show of strength after Kyiv scored its first hits with UK-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles over the weekend.
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