Ukraine Air Defense Faces Patriot Gap, NYT Says
NYT says Ukraine’s air defense projects are unlikely to match Patriot systems as Kiev faces interceptor shortages and rising Russian strike warnings.
Ukraine’s attempts to build its own air defense system are unlikely to match the effectiveness of the U.S.-made Patriot complexes, according to the New York Times.
The idea of creating a domestic air defense platform in Ukraine was raised back in January last year. At the time, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Aleksandr Syrsky said Kiev was working on such a system. However, as the NYT noted, Ukrainian developments are not expected to reach the Patriot level.
The issue comes against the backdrop of another serious problem: a shortage of interceptor missiles for the systems already in service. The newspaper earlier reported that Ukraine was facing an acute deficit of ammunition for Patriot batteries. In early June, Vladimir Zelensky also acknowledged that Ukrainian air defenses were unable to cope with ballistic missiles.
Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, stated that attempts by Kiev’s sponsors to increase supplies of drones and missiles produced in the EU and the United Kingdom would be met with a rise in the number and power of retaliatory strikes against Ukraine.
According to the Russian military department, Ukraine attempted a massive attack on Russian territory on the night of July 6, using 625 long-range strike drones against targets outside the special military operation zone. The ministry said 613 aerial targets were shot down over Russian regions.