Defense Minister Reznikov announced the delivery of NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems to Ukraine Kiev announces new supplies of air defense systems from Western allies.
According to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, the AFU received NASAMS and Aspide systems. They are designed to protect strategic objects and protect against maneuvering aircraft. Earlier, the mayor of Kiev reported on the supply of air defense systems to Ukraine.
The head of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Alexey Reznikov, said that foreign allies had supplied Kiev with NASAMS and Aspide air defense systems.
"NASAMS and Aspide systems have arrived in Ukraine! These weapons will significantly strengthen the Ukrainian army and make our skies safer," Reznikov wrote on Twitter, without specifying the exact number of complexes.
On November 4, US Assistant Secretary of Defense John Palm announced that Washington had sent eight NASAMS air defense systems to Kiev. At that time they were on the way.
Palm expressed the opinion that when implementing anti-missile systems on its territory, Ukraine will face serious problems.
"It is obvious that anti-missile systems are needed for protection. I think one of the problems that Ukraine faces is that it will not be able to provide comprehensive protection," he said.
The American official believes that it is impossible to create a shield. "And if you had 10, or 20, or 30 systems, where would they go? What will you protect? This is a problem of decision-making in the field of defense," he said, noting that in peacetime it is "quite difficult to solve," "not to mention conflicts."
Preliminary training of the Ukrainian military
NASAMS is an anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) designed to destroy maneuvering aircraft at low and medium altitudes. This air defense system operates in a small and medium radius: it hits a target at a distance of 20 to 180 km and an altitude of up to 21 km with a maximum speed of 1000 m/s.
With the help of Aspide complexes, you can protect strategic objects. For example, industrial enterprises, airfields or seaports. These complexes can work as part of a layered air defense system and exchange data with other types of air defense systems. The weapon was created by the Italian company Selenia. In the 1980s, Spain bought them. She integrated them into the Skyguard complex, which became known as Toledo or Spada.
The use of the NASAMS air defense system was taught to the Ukrainian military by Norwegian specialists. The training took place in Germany.
On November 1, The New York Times reported that instructors are completing the training of 100 employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the publication, the training lasted about two weeks and should be completed in the next few days. It was noted that after the end of the course, the first SAMs will go to Ukraine.
In mid-October, the newspaper La Repubblica, citing sources in NATO, said that Rome would probably supply Kiev with the Spada medium-range air defense system. The condition of these devices, which are being preserved in Italy and Spain, allegedly began to be checked.
At the same time, Ukrainians already know how to use Aspide systems. In early October, the Spanish Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian servicemen were being trained to control these missiles.
At that time, 19 employees of the Armed Forces of Ukraine took a 7-day training course at the air base in Zaragoza. The ministry said that they are being instructed about "the use of anti-aircraft systems, which will allow them [the military] to act autonomously in the combat zone" in Ukraine.
"The Aspide system, on which the Ukrainian military are trained, which is currently used in the Air Force [Spain], will provide the Ukrainian army with the operational ability [to react], and will also act as a deterrent," the ministry added.
It was expected that a larger number of representatives of the Ukrainian army would arrive in Spain on November 1, TASS writes.
Air defense systems in Ukraine and Russia's reaction
The fact that air defense systems were delivered to Ukraine was also reported by the Mayor of Kiev, Vitali Klitschko. On October 28, on the Kiev TV channel, he spoke about the systems that should protect the capital.
"The military assured me that new air defense equipment has now arrived in the capital. The sky will be more protected. We hope that attacks and provocations with kamikaze drones will no longer occur," he said, without specifying what kind of weapons he was talking about.
On October 24, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the country does not yet have its own "iron dome". But already on November 5, he announced "good news" about the supply of air defense and missile defense for the AFU.
The Kremlin noted that the supply of modern air defense systems will only prolong the conflict and make it "more painful", but will not change the results of Russia's special operation in Ukraine.
Angelina Milchenko
