All the Russian missiles shot down, 18, and among them the six Khinzal hypersonics, pride of the Russian Aerospace Forces, fired early yesterday on the Ukrainian capital in one of the toughest attacks, and yet most unsuccessful.

After a break of a few months, it has once again become the custom for alarms to go off night after night in Kyiv. So far in May, Russia has launched eight attacks that have put the anti-aircraft defense system and other mobile army units that support the hunt for missiles on alert, but especially the Iranian Shahid drones, which until last night Mondays were Moscow’s favourites. “They are looking to attack some military bases in the face of the counteroffensive, but they are also looking to create panic,” said Paros days ago, a lawyer who leads one of the mobile groups that have protected the skies over the city since October.

By then, Russia had launched a wave of attacks aimed at destroying strategic infrastructure, especially power plants. “Our commanders decided to create these units to protect the airspace and the city from drone attacks especially,” Paros explained. Their job, like that of dozens of similar units, is to position themselves among the anti-aircraft batteries to support them in their work of shooting down drones and missiles, which are usually sent at low altitude. The number of these batteries has been increasing in recent months but they are still not enough to cover the city, and it is also necessary to save on ammunition, which is more expensive and scarce.

If possible, the units to which Paros belongs, do all the work on their own and thus prevent the anti-aircraft defense system from turning on and the Russian forces being able to locate their position, as seems to be one of Moscow’s purposes, that in this latest wave of attacks has sought to detect and exhaust these batteries. This happened again in the early hours of yesterday Tuesday when the sky over Kyiv exploded again. And this time he did it so often that it reminded us of the attacks with the Grad batteries –so frequent on the battlefront–, which launch a series of rockets, one after the other. Without truce.

The explosions were felt in the sky, above the skyscrapers, and suddenly the entire city was illuminated. It was clear that this time the Ukrainian defense system did not fear detection and was operating at its maximum capacity. What was different was how often he did it. The head of Kyiv’s military administration called it “exceptional.”

By then, Telegram channels claimed that the country, but especially Kyiv, was being attacked by missiles coming from various directions. And rumors were also circulating that Patriot anti-missile batteries had gone into action, as they had already done on at least May 4, when Ukraine announced that it had shot down a Khinzal hypersonic missile, the supposed jewel in Russia’s crown.

“Six (Khinzal)”, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, General Valeryi Zalushny, would confirm early in the morning, who specified that Russia had also sent nine cruise missiles and three ballistic missiles, the first from the Black Sea and seconds from a ground platform. In total 18 and all intercepted, confirmed the general. Later, Russia acknowledged that it had launched a Khinzal and succeeded in destroying one of the Patriot batteries.

The spokesman for the Ukrainian defense establishment said on public television that he would not contest such statements by Russia. For its part, the CNN television network quoted a US official stating that the Patriot battery could have been damaged but not destroyed. He assured that at the moment they were analyzing and if it could be repaired in Ukraine.

Suspicions that something could have happened arose from the very early morning when a video was circulating on some Russian channels in which it was seen how an anti-aircraft battery, hidden behind some buildings, launched missiles until it fell silent, and for a few seconds then there was an explosion. It didn’t look as big as you’d expect from one of the most powerful anti-aircraft systems in the world. Since then doubts arose that something had happened. What they did quickly confirm was that the parts of the missiles and drones (nine, the latter) had fallen in different parts of Kyiv. In the photos that later circulated, several cars were seen on fire, but yesterday the place of that incident could not be accessed. Other parts fell in a park and in the city zoo. The animals and their handlers were not harmed.

“We all understand the danger,” acknowledged a 41-year-old engineer who calls himself Rambo. He is part of the unit that hunts drones in Kyiv under the command of Paros. “But when the Shahid or the missile is hit, its parts cause less damage… What matters to us is that these objects do not reach the final target, which can cause a catastrophe,” explained this man whose job is to manipulate a Maxim machine gun dating back to World War I. “They will understand that the most sophisticated weapons go to the front lines where the army needs them,” he pointed out.

Even so, this man assured that this type of weapon is useful for the type of attack that they repel. When we accompanied them on a mission on May 11, they told that the Russians usually send drones and missiles following the course of the Dnieper. That is why most of their positions are near the river, in high places, and their job is to shoot at that range. “Our area of ​​responsibility is what I can see with my eyes,” Rambo explained. When he uses night vision equipment, he reaches up to 800 meters. “The air defense has radars that can discover the target in advance. That is why they have the advantage of being the first to reach an objective”, explained Rambo, who recalled that it is not always smart for the defenses to come into action because the Russians can detect them and attack them. As could have happened with the Patriots.

“Many times it also happens that they – the anti-aircraft defenses – shoot first and we continue with the work until we knock them down,” he says. If a mobile unit does not reach the objective, the mission falls on the next one and so on until it is completed. The great obstacle for these brigades continues to be visibility, especially at night, which is why reflectors will soon be installed pointing at the space near the river so that they can more easily detect missiles and drones. “Our data shows that these units are a good match for air defense. We help to clear the skies of Kyiv”, concluded Paros.