I spoke to a Lt. Colonel in Ukraine’s air defence command, who revealed several new facts. First, Kyiv was on the brink of evacuation in Dec due to the intensity of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure. Patriot missiles helped save the city, but are now running out.
“You can’t plan a war with annual production of 160 Patriot missiles. We fired those in a month,” he said. “If we wait until autumn [to increase supply] they will hit energy infrastructure again. This is a certainty. This winter will be even more difficult than the previous one.”
Second, the UK has supplied Ukraine with a new air defence system: Supacat trucks rigged by British engineers to fire cheaper ASRAAM missiles. Effective against Shahed drones, but also Russian attack helicopters near the front line. Kyiv loves them, and needs more.
Third, UK Storm Shadow missiles are so effective the Kremlin has launched a ballistic missile campaign against the jets that launch and their airfields. To defend against ballistics, Ukraine needs more Patriots, and is asking for 40 old PAC-2 systems in US storage.
Fourth, after suspected Ukrainian drone strikes on Kremlin, Putin retaliated by launching “unstoppable” hypersonic ballistic missile at Zelensky’s presidential administration. Kyiv’s Patriots shot it down, and defeated massed ballistic and hypersonic strikes since without loss.
Fifth: “Kyiv now has the most powerful air defence system in the world. throughout history,” the colonel said, claiming 215 Russian missile and drone intercepts over Kyiv in May and June alone. “It’s Patriots, it’s Nasams, it’s German Iris, S-300, it’s French Crotale.” BUT…
They don’t have enough missiles, and Western officials have told them their air defence is “too expensive”. He complained politicians count coins over lives and fail to consider the cost of storing, maintaining and disposing of mothballed systems that could be given to Ukraine.
“They’ve already been paid for by the grandmothers of current US citizens. You either have them sitting around rotting away or you give them to us, we’ll use them somehow,” he added.
“Yes, there’s a huge price to fighting Russia, a country with a military budget greater than our state budget. We’re willing to pay it with our lives. If anyone thinks money is more important than our lives, please say so. Don’t make promises and then give us the bare minimum.”
He also revealed lack of missiles was stalling the counteroffensive, which badly needs US ATACMS and air superiority to succeed. Read the full piece here:
How US Patriot defences are reducing ‘unstoppable’ Russian missiles to shrapnel
thetimes.co.uk/article/a60127…
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