Two US-made Patriot systems were among the hardware of Ukrainian troops destroyed by a strike of Russia's Iskander missile in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), a security source told Sputnik on Saturday.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported Iskander's strike earlier in the day. Its preliminary data suggested the strike destroyed an S-300 missile system of Ukrainian troops near the town of Pokrovsk in the DPR. Sputnik later obtained footage suggesting there were three missile systems destroyed by Iskander's strike.
"A control analysis has found that captured on the video was not only the S-300, as previously stated, but two of the three vehicles destroyed [by the strike] were the Patriot missile systems," the source said.
Iskander can be armed with both ballistic and winged projectiles, which create false electronic interference as they approach the target and become virtually invulnerable to enemy air defense systems. Cruise missiles can fly at ultra-low altitudes and skirt terrain.
The US sent Ukraine Raytheon-made air defense systems last spring, but they have had difficulties intercepting Russian projectiles and have been targeted themselves. In January this year, an advisor to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Air Force Command admitted that Ukraine’s NATO-sourced air defenses have never actually managed to intercept even one of the estimated 300 Kh-22 series missiles Russian warplanes had launched into Ukraine since 2022.
In May 2023, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that its forces had destroyed a Kiev-stationed Patriot with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a successful hit on another Patriot two weeks later.
Western countries have been providing Ukraine with military equipment since the start of Russia's special military operation in February 2022. The support evolved from lighter artillery munitions and training to heavier weapons, including tanks. Ukraine eventually started pushing for Western-made fighter jets, which its donors abroad long resisted.
The Kremlin has consistently warned against continued arms deliveries to Kiev, saying it would lead to further escalation of the conflict. In April 2022, Russia sent a diplomatic note to all NATO countries on the issue of arms supplies to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.