Medvedev called the Patriot air defense system in case of their delivery to Ukraine a legitimate target of the Russian Armed Forces NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that members of the alliance are discussing the possibility of supplying Patriot complexes to Ukraine to protect against missile strikes.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, warned that in this case, American anti-aircraft missile launchers would become a legitimate target for the country's armed forces. Why Kiev needs Patriot and what the complex is capable of - in the review of "Gazeta.Ru".
What Medvedev said
If the NATO countries still transfer the American Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, they will immediately become a target for Russian strikes. This was stated by the former president of Russia and vice-chairman of the country's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev.
At the same time, the deputy Chairman of the Security Council expressed hope that the "Atlantic impotents" understand this, meaning representatives of the North Atlantic Alliance.
Earlier on November 29, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, following the results of the first day of the summit of the foreign ministers of the alliance member states, said that the participants of the meeting were discussing the possibility of transferring Patriot complexes to Kiev.
What Kiev requires
Later, Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said that Kiev "should be allowed" to attack the bases of missiles used to strike Ukraine's critical infrastructure, and not be afraid of an escalation of the conflict with Russia.
Kiev has been asking Western partners for several months to transfer more powerful missile defense systems to them, including the Patriot air defense system. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba said earlier on Tuesday that at the upcoming NATO summit he intends to seek from the West the supply of new air and missile defense systems, as well as components for the restoration of damaged energy infrastructure.
On the eve of Stoltenberg expressed hope that following the results of the NATO summit in Bucharest, the alliance will be able to increase the supply of weapons to Ukraine and, in particular, air defense systems.
"I expect that one of the messages following the meeting of foreign Ministers here in Bucharest will be the need to further increase the supply of both air defense systems and, of course, spare parts, ammunition for various air defense systems, as well as providing training for their use," the Secretary General said.
The discussion on the supply of Patriot air defense systems to Kiev intensified after the massive strikes of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the energy infrastructure of Ukraine and the subsequent blackout in the country. The discussion was also facilitated by the incident in Polish Przevodow, when a missile from the Ukrainian S-300 air defense system fell on a local grain dryer, resulting in the death of two farmers. Then the chairman of the Polish Law and Justice Party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, suggested that Germany send its Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems not to Poland, but to Ukraine. In Berlin, they replied that they would like these missile defense systems to remain on NATO territory.
What is Patriot
Patriot is an American anti-aircraft missile system that has been in service with the United States, and later with other NATO countries, since the early 1980s. It is a universal means of air defense for medium and high altitudes.
Because of its characteristic appearance, the Patriot is called a "hydraulic garbage truck" in the NATO troops. The launcher is a remote-controlled autonomous device that can rotate anti-aircraft guided missiles in a container by 220 degrees relative to its longitudinal axis. The chassis can be different: Kenworth trucks are used in the USA, MAN tractors are used in Germany, JINAF trucks are used in the Netherlands.
Currently, NATO countries are armed, as a rule, with Patriot air defense systems of the latest modification of the PAC-3. They can be guaranteed to hit ballistic targets - for example, missiles - at an altitude of 15 km. There are reports of hitting targets at an altitude of 20 km. At the same time, Patriot cannot hit targets flying faster than 1600 m/s (5760 km/h).
Patriot is an expensive complex both in terms of cost and maintenance. The price of one battery consisting of four launchers reaches $1 billion. And the cost of one launch is about $3 million.
Mikhail Kotlyar
