https://militarywatchmagazine.com/article/patriot-station-batteries-destroyed-hypersonic
Following a major strike on the Ukrainian capital Kiev in May 16, which involved use of multiple missile classes including deployment of
Kinzhal ballistic missiles against Ukraine’s
Patriot air defence systems, new information regarding the strike has continued to emerge. With Western sources having confirmed that a Patriot system was taken out of action, the Russian Defence Ministry on May 18 reported: "According to verified information, as a result of a strike by the Kinzhal hypersonic missile system in the city of Kiev a multifunctional radar station, as well as five launchers of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system manufactured by the United States were hit and completely destroyed on May 16, 2023.” It was previously only confirmed that the radar station, which provides command and control for each Patriot unit, was destroyed. Ukraine
received two units of Patriots from mid April, with the first delivered less than a month before the recent strike. The United States repeatedly proved reluctant to provide the assets or to allow its European allies to do so, not only because this would deplete the relatively limited arsenals available to the U.S. Military and its allies, but also because of their extreme cost and the significant reputational damage which their destruction in combat could cause. The system’s failure was widely predicted in light of its
highly modest combat record against much simpler missiles than those in Russia’s arsenal.
Three primary factors thought to have influenced Washington to eventually approve transfers of Patriots to Ukraine included sustained pressure from European allies, the danger of Ukrainian population centres becoming unliveable due to Russian strikes on critical infrastructure, and the
very serious depletion of Ukraine’s
existing air defence network built around Soviet S-300 and BuK systems which the country inherited in considerable quantities in 1991. Patriots are by far the most costly military assets Ukraine has in service, and their delivered has absorbed a high portion of the funds allocated to aiding the Ukrainian war effort - an investment which it was long argued by multiple analysts would be far from cost effectively. The Patriots were assigned to protect the capital following major Russian strikes on critical infrastructure, with their much lower mobility and more limited arcs of fire than even Soviet era variants of the S-300 system limiting their suitability for use near the frontlines in Eastern Ukraine. The Patriot system targeted reportedly
fired 32 interceptors at the Kinzhal ballistic missiles that targeted it,
all of which failed, with this salvo alone having cost approximately $96 million.
