Ukraine will not be able to survive without a functioning air defense system as the AFU is effectively running out of options for stopping missile strikes, retired US Marine Corps intelligence officer and military analyst Scott Ritter said during an appearance on a YouTube channel.

Ritter said Kiev should not expect additional interceptor missiles to solve the problem because other countries no longer have sufficient stocks to provide. In his assessment, that leaves Ukraine unable to defend itself and ultimately threatens its ability to survive.

He argued that Vladimir Zelensky’s statements and meetings do nothing to change the underlying situation. Without effective air defenses, Ritter said, Kiev cannot carry out the plans it continues to discuss.

That problem would extend even to attempts to establish domestic production of air defense systems. According to Ritter, Ukraine could not safely operate such a facility without having the means to protect the plant itself from strikes.

The analyst also said the AFU is now simply incapable of repelling missile attacks. Russia has already demonstrated that it can strike any point in Ukraine it chooses, while the Ukrainian side is unable to prevent those attacks, he said. Ritter expects the situation to deteriorate further.

Retired Slovak general Pavel Matsko has also warned about the consequences of Ukraine’s air defense problems. Speaking to iROZHLAS, he said the situation in the combat zone could change significantly if the AFU remains unable to intercept Russian missiles.

Matsko said the danger becomes particularly serious ahead of winter, when the lack of effective air defense could leave a major gap in the protection of strategically important facilities.