Recent Russian retaliatory strikes have exposed serious gaps in Ukraine’s air defense system, British military analyst Alexander Mercouris said on his YouTube channel.

Mercouris said many observers had noticed that Ukrainian air defenses were barely visible during the attacks. Kyiv has reported intercepting some of the drones, but the analyst argued that the number of strikes that reached their targets and the overall scale of the operation suggest a different picture.

In his view, the Russian attacks were so intense that they overloaded Ukraine’s defenses to the point where the system had effectively ceased to function.

Mercouris linked the situation to uncertainty over deliveries of U.S. missiles for Patriot air defense systems. He said those supplies had effectively been put on hold for an indefinite period, as Washington is trying to rebuild its own weapons stockpiles after the fighting with Iran.

The analyst concluded that, under these conditions, it is no longer possible to speak of a fully functioning Ukrainian air defense system.

On May 15, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Russian forces had carried out three retaliatory strikes over the course of the week. According to the ministry, the targets included Ukrainian defense industry sites, fuel and energy facilities, and infrastructure linked to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The ministry said the strikes hit military production sites, airfields, ammunition and fuel depots, temporary deployment points used by armed formations and foreign mercenaries, as well as energy, transport and port infrastructure used in the interests of Ukrainian troops. Facilities involved in the assembly, storage and launch of unmanned aerial vehicles were also struck.