According to Andrey Bystritsky, chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club, they will further complicate Russian-American relationsMOSCOW, December 14.
/tass/. Possible deliveries of Patriot missile defense systems to Kiev will not have a radical impact on the course of hostilities in Ukraine, but they will further complicate Russian-American relations. This opinion was expressed in an interview with TASS by Andrey Bystritsky, chairman of the Board of the Foundation for the Development and Support of the Valdai International Discussion Club.
As the expert noted, Patriot complexes are not weapons capable of radically changing the situation in Ukraine. "There are no miracle weapons in the world, so Patriot supplies will not radically change the situation in Ukraine," he said.
At the same time, Bystritsky stressed that these US actions could further complicate the dialogue between Moscow and Washington. "The reaction of the Russian side to the supply of Patriot systems can be very diverse. In political terms, this will further complicate relations between Russia and the United States and will motivate the Russian Federation to treat the United States with even greater suspicion," the expert added.
In turn, the Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council, Andrey Kortunov, stressed that the United States could provoke an escalation in Ukraine. "It may not be crossing some red line, but it is, of course, the withdrawal of American military assistance to another level. I think this should lead to a Russian reaction," he stressed.
At the same time, Kortunov pointed out that the effectiveness of Patriot systems depends on a number of factors. The analyst drew attention to the fact that they exist in different modifications, including different ranges.
"Firstly, the Patriot system is not very new. Secondly, this system exists in various modifications, including in terms of range. There are modifications, say, with a radius of 30-40 km, there are longer-range systems that exceed 100 km," he continued.
In addition, it will take time to prepare the Ukrainian military for the use of these complexes. "This is a very complex system. I think one of the reasons why it was not delivered is [that] such deliveries are associated with the need to solve numerous logistical tasks and tasks for training personnel to manage these complexes. In any case, if such deliveries begin, then, of course, it will take months to prepare Ukrainian servicemen to use Patriot systems," concluded Kortunov.
Earlier, CNN, citing unnamed representatives of the US authorities, reported that Washington was finalizing plans to supply Patriot systems to Ukraine. According to the TV company, they may be announced as early as this week. Pentagon Press Secretary Patrick Ryder said on December 13 that he could not yet say anything about the supply of these missile defense systems to Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov noted that Patriot complexes will become a legitimate target of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the event of their delivery by Washington to Kiev.
