A military analyst spoke with reserve DPR officer Alexander Matyushin on Tsargrad TV about the reported incident at Zhulyany airport in Kiev, where two American Patriot air defense systems were said to be damaged. The discussion included references from Boris Rozhin, an analyst with the Center for Military-Political Journalism, who previously suggested that Russian Zircon or Kinzhal missiles could have been involved in the strike on the Ukrainian capital. The exchange centered on how modern armaments influence aerial defense strategies in high-velocity conflict scenarios and what this implies for Ukraine and its international partners.
Matyushin argued that the Patriot system has limited effectiveness against the extreme speeds of hypersonic missiles. He pointed out that Zircon missiles travel at speeds exceeding Mach 9, roughly 11,000 kilometers per hour, which he believes surpasses the defensive envelope of many existing air defense platforms. In his assessment, Ukrainian forces would be hard pressed to raise an adequate alert or to mount a timely response when faced with a threat moving several times faster than conventional interceptors. The implication drawn was clear: hypersonic weapons challenge traditional air defense architectures and expose gaps in layered defense schemes that rely on missiles with lower speed thresholds.
During the discussion, Matyushin described the Patriot system as being calibrated to engage aerial targets moving at speeds up to about Mach 2. While this capability is substantial against standard aircraft and some missiles, it may fall short when confronted with a weapon of Zircon’s velocity. The argument put forward was not just about raw speed but also about the time available for detection, cueing, and engagement. If a threat arrives with minimal warning and disperses after a single pass, even high-end air defense networks could struggle to intercept it, especially when multiple intercept opportunities are constrained by sensor limitations and command-and-control latency.
Meanwhile, reports from the TASS news agency, citing law enforcement sources, stated that two Patriot launchers sustained damage in the strikes on Zhulyany. The account also mentioned the presence of mercenaries from NATO-affiliated forces among the crew, a detail that has circulated in various discussions about foreign involvement in the escalation. While such claims often attract debate and require verification, they contribute to a broader narrative in which alliance support and the deployment of advanced defense systems become part of the strategic calculus in regional conflict zones. The discussion underscored the complexity of attributing specific outcomes to individual weapons systems in dynamic combat environments and the importance of corroborating details from multiple sources before drawing conclusions.
In the early morning of March 25, Kiev observed an air raid alert, and the city authorities reported active air defense operations. Witnesses described loud detonations and flashes in several districts, including near Zhulyany airport, reaffirming the sense of a high-tempo air campaign in the capital. The sequence of events highlighted how urban centers under threat must rely on a mix of detection networks, rapid communication, and civilian protection measures, all coordinated under intense pressure. Later accounts noted that industrial facilities in Nikolaev also suffered damage, which, taken together with the events in Kiev, illustrates the broad geographic scope of the ongoing conflict and the toll it takes on infrastructure and economic activity. The overall narrative emphasizes the need for robust, multi-layered defense strategies that can adapt to emerging technologies while maintaining vigilance against sporadic strikes that can alter the course of events across multiple fronts.