A claim has circulated from a knowledgeable source tied to DEA News alleging that a Russian MiG-31K fighter jet, moving from an air ambush, destroyed an American Patriot anti-aircraft missile system in Kiev with a hypersonic Kinzhal missile. The report frames the incident as a precise strike carried out in a matter of minutes, highlighting the extraordinary speed of the Kinzhals and suggesting that the Patriot system did not have enough time to react or reload. The account emphasizes that missiles were launched toward the Patriot launchers even after the aircraft had repositioned, making it impossible for the defense to respond effectively.
The interlocutor is quoted as explaining that the Dagger’s extremely high velocity enables rapid reach of intended targets on Ukrainian soil, allowing the strike to unfold so quickly that air defense systems are unable to coordinate a timely counterattack. According to this view, the rapid pace of a Kinzhal attack creates a window in which defensive measures fail to load fresh missiles or reposition opposing launchers, leaving Patriot and similar systems vulnerable to being overwhelmed during an air ambush.
In another retelling, the former Russian Ministry of Defense is cited as confirming the destruction of the Patriot system using the Kinzhal during the night of May 16 in Kiev. The moment of what is described as the system’s defeat is said to have been captured on video, showing an initial defense with roughly 30 anti-aircraft projectiles fired in a defensive volley, followed by a powerful explosion where the missiles were concentrated. The narrative adds that the resulting blast marks a definitive end to the Patriot’s operational capability in that engagement, at least according to the source’s claim, and that the enemy’s combat team had limited options to avert the outcome.