Direct proof of use
The Kh-47M2 Kinzhal is documented in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War as a Russian air-launched ballistic missile used in long-range strike operations against Ukraine. IISS describes Russian Aerospace Forces employment of the 9-S-7760 Kinzhal, also identified as RS-AS-24a Killjoy, from MiG-31K Foxhound-D aircraft in Ukraine on several occasions.
The first widely reported wartime use claim came in March 2022, when Russia said it had used a Kinzhal missile against an ammunition storage facility near Deliatyn in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast. BBC News reported the Russian claim, while Nuclear Threat Initiative summarized the Russian Ministry of Defence announcement and the subsequent Russian release of strike footage.
Later public evidence places the missile in the Ukraine-war air-defense contest. In May 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense confirmed that Ukraine had downed a Russian missile using a Patriot missile-defense system after a reporter asked about the Ukrainian claim that the missile was a Kinzhal or Killjoy. AP separately reported Ukraine's statement that a Kh-47 missile launched by a Russian MiG-31K had been intercepted over the Kyiv region.
Sources: IISS Ballistic and Cruise Trajectories, BBC Kinzhal First Use Claim, NTI Kinzhal Assessment, Pentagon Patriot Intercept Briefing, AP Patriot Kinzhal Intercept
Dated strike evidence
The cited record begins with Russia's March 2022 claim about Deliatyn and continues through repeated Russian strike waves. IISS treats the Kinzhal as one of the Russian missile types used in the war and notes that Ukrainian forces later claimed Kinzhal-type intercepts using the U.S.-designed MIM-104 Patriot system.
On May 6, 2023, AP reported Ukraine's claim that a Patriot battery shot down a Kh-47 missile over the Kyiv region during a May 4 night attack. On May 9, 2023, the Pentagon confirmed that Ukraine had downed a Russian missile with Patriot, while declining detailed operational characterization.
On January 2, 2024, AP reported Ukrainian officials saying Russia launched ten Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles in a larger attack on Kyiv and Kharkiv and that Ukrainian air defenses shot down all ten. Ukrinform later cited Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson as saying that Russia had fired 63 Kinzhal missiles since the start of the full-scale invasion and that Ukrainian forces had intercepted 25 of them by January 7, 2024.
Sources: IISS Ballistic and Cruise Trajectories, AP Patriot Kinzhal Intercept, Pentagon Patriot Intercept Briefing, AP January 2024 Kinzhal Salvo, Ukrinform Kinzhal Intercept Count
Operational role
In this conflict, the Kinzhal appears as a Russian long-range strike weapon launched from aircraft rather than as a ground-fired missile. IISS links the wartime Kinzhal record to MiG-31K aircraft and describes the missile as an air-launched version of the 9M723 family, with aircraft launch increasing range and creating speed and trajectory challenges for air defense.
The public sources support Russian use and Ukrainian interception claims; they do not support Ukrainian possession or use of the Kinzhal. The strongest direct-use claims are still tied to attributed official statements, institutional analysis, and strike or intercept reporting rather than independent full-chain launch-to-impact observation for every incident.
The record also separates use from performance claims. Russian statements described the missile as difficult to defeat, but the cited May 2023 and January 2024 sources document Ukrainian and U.S.-confirmed Patriot intercept reporting, making the Kinzhal part of both Russia's long-range strike campaign and Ukraine's air-defense evidence record.
Sources: IISS Ballistic and Cruise Trajectories, Pentagon Patriot Intercept Briefing, AP January 2024 Kinzhal Salvo, Ukrinform Kinzhal Intercept Count
