Video footage credited to Ukraine’s Air Command Center appears to show a MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system intercepting a Russian 3M22 Zircon hypersonic cruise missile during an overnight strike wave on February 15 to 16, 2026.
While the clip itself does not provide enough information to confirm the type of incoming missile independently, the claim aligns with an official morning update from the Ukrainian Air Force, which reported that two Zircon anti-ship missiles were shot down or suppressed during the same attack window.
According to the Ukrainian Air Force update, Russia attacked “on the night of February 16 (from 18:00 on February 15),” with four Zircon missiles launched from occupied Crimea, an Iskander-M ballistic missile from Bryansk Oblast, a Kh-31P air-launched missile from occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and 62 attack drones (including Shahed-type UAVs).
The Ukrainian Air Force claims that air defenses “shot down or suppressed” two Zircon missiles and 52 drones. It also reported impacts by one missile and nine drones across eight locations, plus debris falling in two other locations.
Zircon, Russia’s hypersonic cruise missile
Zircon is a ship-launched hypersonic cruise missile, powered by a high-speed air-breathing engine (scramjet). It is said to travel at speeds between Mach 6 and Mach 8, with Russian sources citing a maximum range of about 625 miles.
The Zircon entered service aboard the Admiral Gorshkov frigate in 2023 and was allegedly first used in a strike on Kyiv in February 2024. Open-source reporting citing Russian procurement documentation has suggested annual deliveries of 80 Zircon missiles for 2024–2026.
Patriot and hypersonic intercept claims
Ukraine has repeatedly credited the Patriot air defense system (as well as the European SAMP/T) with intercepting some of Russia’s most demanding aerial threats. These include Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles and Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles.
According to Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence, it is working with partners to accelerate deliveries of missiles for MIM-104 Patriot systems. It has also stated that at a recent Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in the Ramstein format, it secured agreements with several European partners to urgently provide Patriot missiles from their stockpiles.
“Acting on the President’s instructions, we agreed with several European partners on the urgent delivery of Patriot missiles from their existing stocks,” said Ukraine’s Minister of Defence Mykhailo Fedorov. “Final quantities will be confirmed following approval by the leadership of the respective partner countries.”
In a statement reported by The Financial Times in late January 2026, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed European states for gaps in Ukraine’s air defenses. Zelenskyy linked a shortage of PAC-3 interceptors to delayed payments under the Prioritised Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) mechanism for procurement of US weapons for Ukraine. However, a NATO official involved with PURL later pushed back, claiming that the Patriot missile shortfall was not connected to delayed European payments.