Ukraine can shoot down Tsirkon missiles with SAMP/T, Patriot systems - Air Force spox

The spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, Major Ilya Yevlash, said that Ukrainian air defense systems can shoot down Russia’s Tsirkon missiles with the help of SAMP/T and Patriot systems.

This was reported by ArmyInform, Ukrinform saw.

Yevlash addressed the issue while speaking with Radio Svoboda, saying that hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of over Mach 5 (Mach 1 is approximately 1,200 km per hour). Still, Ukraine has weapons capable of intercepting these missiles.

“This is a very, very fast weapon. If we talk about Tsirkons, it is about Mach 8-9. It's incredibly fast. However, when these missiles get into the impact trajectory, their velocity decreases. They become subsonic, about Mach 4.5. And it is at this moment that we can employ our anti-ballistic systems. These are SAMP/T and Patriot systems, which can inflict powerful damage and take down even such weapons," said the spokesperson for the Air Force.

Read also: Kuleba to partners after Russia's missile strikes: 'Give us the damn Patriots'

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Natalia Humaniuk, head of the joint press center of Operational Command South, aid that for the Russians, terrorist pressure remains a priority, and that Russia may pursue targeted terror from time to time with a certain emphasis, including on Kyiv.