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Ukraine Downs Russian Hypersonic Missile with US Patriot

A view of the lunar eclipse between residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, 05 May 2023. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
A view of the lunar eclipse between residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, 05 May 2023. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
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Ukraine Downs Russian Hypersonic Missile with US Patriot

A view of the lunar eclipse between residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, 05 May 2023. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO
A view of the lunar eclipse between residential buildings in Kyiv, Ukraine, 05 May 2023. EPA/SERGEY DOLZHENKO

Ukraine's air force claimed Saturday to have downed a Russian hypersonic missile over Kyiv using newly acquired American Patriot defense systems, the first known time the country has been able to intercept one of Moscow's most modern missiles.

Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said in a Telegram post that the Kinzhal-type ballistic missile had been intercepted in an overnight attack on the Ukrainian capital earlier in the week. It was also the first time Ukraine is known to have used the Patriot defense systems.

“Yes, we shot down the ‘unique’ Kinzhal,” Oleshchuk wrote. “It happened during the night time attack on May 4 in the skies of the Kyiv region.”

Oleshchuk said the Kh-47 missile was launched by a MiG-31K aircraft from the Russian territory and was shot down with a Patriot missile.

The Kinzhal is one of the latest and most advanced Russian weapons. The Russian military says the air-launched ballistic missile has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers (about 1,250 miles) and flies at 10 times the speed of sound, making it hard to intercept.

A combination of hypersonic speed and a heavy warhead allows the Kinzhal to destroy heavily fortified targets, like underground bunkers or mountain tunnels.

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UN Aid Chief Succession in Focus amid Exploding Humanitarian Crises

FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator briefs media on the launch of the funding appeal to support conflict-torn Sudan in 2024 at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator briefs media on the launch of the funding appeal to support conflict-torn Sudan in 2024 at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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UN Aid Chief Succession in Focus amid Exploding Humanitarian Crises

FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator briefs media on the launch of the funding appeal to support conflict-torn Sudan in 2024 at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator briefs media on the launch of the funding appeal to support conflict-torn Sudan in 2024 at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, February 7, 2024. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has yet to name a permanent replacement for the global body's aid chief who departs for health reasons on Friday, drawing criticism at a time of record global needs.
Martin Griffiths, a British former diplomat who helped broker the Black Sea Grains deal between Ukraine and Russia and led a chorus of concern over the Gaza war, has said the plan is to appoint his deputy Joyce Msuya from Tanzania as acting chief, reported Reuters.
However, some observers say not having named a permanent successor sends the wrong signal at a time when some donors are retrenching, with this year's $48.7 budget less than 20% funded.
"Someone acting temporarily is not a good thing," Jan Egeland, who held the post from 2003-2006 and is now secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council, told Reuters.
"They don't have the same authority, perspective, the same weight at a time of deep crisis in humanitarian work – we haven't had so many people hungry, attacked, abused with so little hope before in living memory."
Other diplomats also voiced disappointment that there would be a delay in appointing a permanent replacement for Griffiths as Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
A UN spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Under the unwritten rules of a UN system, the five countries holding permanent seats on the Security Council divide up key the roles. Britain gets aid; France gets peacekeeping; the United States gets political affairs; China gets economic affairs; and Russia gets a key UN post in Europe.
The past five aid chiefs after Egeland have all been British and traditionally, countries' nominations are not challenged by the other four permanent members, nor by other UN members.
Richard Gowan, UN director at the International Crisis Group, said the delay in appointing a successor indicated that Guterres, who has been interviewing candidates, was waiting for the result of the July 4 British election.
"It would obviously be preferable to have a more structured handover," he said, adding that if the post is open too long "it will give an impression of drift".
Britain's candidate is Minister of State Tariq Ahmad, diplomats said. Reuters could not confirm the others. The British mission in Geneva declined to comment citing pre-election restrictions.
With Griffiths' departure, concerns about the current system of appointments have re-emerged.
A letter to Guterres by the Geneva staff union urged him to make the process "transparent, inclusive and merit-based ... rather than solely basing it on a candidate's nationality".
The Emergency Relief Coordinator post helps 300 million people from Sudan to Ukraine.
It was created in 1991, decades after other UN positions, but has since grown into one of the most important as the body's work has shifted from ending and preventing conflicts to dealing with their impacts, such as record forced displacement.
In an interview with Reuters last month, Griffiths said he was worried about the future. "It has never been as bad as this," he said. "God knows we need a good person and I hope we will."