MOSCOW, July 10. /TASS/. Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles cannot be shot down and Kiev’s claims of intercepting these missiles by Patriot air defense systems are pure propaganda, Rostec First Deputy CEO Vladimir Artyakov said in a live broadcast on the Rossiya-24 television channel on Monday.
"Of course, it is impossible to intercept Kinzhals. The point is that the Kinzhal system integrates the technologies that today actually cannot be overcome from the standpoint of halting the missile’s movement to the designated area," the senior executive said.
"This is one of the elements of our enemy’s propaganda work," Artyakov said, commenting on Kiev’s claims that Kinzhal hypersonic missiles had allegedly been shot down by a Patriot air defense system.
China’s Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui who visited Kiev in mid-May also did not believe that Patriot air defense system were capable of shooting down Russian Kinzhal hypersonic missiles as claimed by Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov in an interview with The Financial Times.
The Kinzhal is Russia’s latest system with hypersonic aero-ballistic missiles carried by specially equipped MiG-31K fighters-interceptors. The Kinzhal missile features low radar signature and high maneuverability and is designed to strike ground and naval targets.