US admits Patriot system was target of Russian attack

Hours after the US Department of Defense report on the destruction of a Patriot missile defense system by a Russian missile attack on Ukraine, an American official said Washington was conducting investigations to determine the extent of the damage.

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday afternoon (May 16) that it had attacked a US-made Patriot system in Ukraine with a hypersonic missile. CNN's website, citing a US official, has now claimed that this system was likely damaged, but not completely destroyed, in Tuesday morning's Russian attack.

According to this American official, Washington is conducting investigations to determine the extent of the damage. He said the outcome of this assessment will determine whether the system in question can be repaired at its location in Ukraine or whether it will have to be transported as a whole.

On Tuesday afternoon, Ukrainian authorities claimed to have intercepted and destroyed 6 hypersonic missiles launched by Russia. However, the Ukrainian military declined to comment on Russia's claim that the Patriot system had been targeted.

Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, said: "We cannot comment on this matter. We do not comment on news from Russian sources.” There are currently 2 Patriot defense systems deployed in Ukraine. One of these systems was donated by the United States, the other by Germany and the Netherlands.

It is not yet clear which of these systems was the target of the Russian attack, but the failure of any of them will have a major negative impact on Ukraine's ability to repel Russian missile attacks. American officials told CNN that Russia had previously attacked the Patriot system with hypersonic missiles, one of which is said to have taken place on May 4th. However, he was unsuccessful.