How Kyiv fended off a Russian missile blitz in May

THE OPERATING manuals said it was possible. But it was only after the launch order was made—and a successful interception confirmed—that Vyacheslav convinced himself of it.The 30-year-old Patriot operator recalls a moment of applause, joy and expletives as the Ukrainian officers realised they had made history that night of May 4th. The Russians’ “unbeatable” Kh-47 Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missile was not only beatable; but it was actually travelling at “only” around approximately 1,240 metres per second, a third of what the Russians like to claim. “We understood that the Patriot worked. The next time, when we saw not one, but six Kinzhals on our monitors, it was just a matter of getting on with the job.”