Two such batteries have already been transferred to Kiev
MOSCOW, June 3. /tass/. Ukraine needs 50 Patriot missile defense systems. This statement was made on Saturday by the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
"Ukraine needs 50 Patriot batteries," he said. - This is currently the only complex that can "turn off" some types of Russian missiles."
Now two Patriot batteries have been transferred to Kiev, and five batteries have been promised in total. Also, according to Zelensky, Ukraine needs air defense means for a counteroffensive. "Any counteroffensive without control in the sky is very dangerous. Imagine a military man who understands that he has no roof. And he doesn't understand why neighboring countries have it," the president said.
The day before, Zelensky complained that Ukraine could not receive not only a sufficient number of Patriots, but also missiles for them, since it was in the queue for delivery. According to him, the European "coalition" for the transfer of these systems to Kiev is at the initial stage of formation. At the same time, the president acknowledged that some countries that have agreed to join the "coalition" do not have these complexes at all.
The Ukrainian authorities regularly call on the West to provide Kiev with air defense systems. As the representative of the command of the Air Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Yuriy Ignat noted, the main element of the Ukrainian air defense system remains Soviet equipment. However, the country's Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov stated that the APU had almost used up the reserves of missiles for it. He pointed out that Ukraine does not produce such ammunition, and also does not have the opportunity to ask for them, so Western equipment is needed.
On May 16, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reported that the Russian armed forces struck the Patriot air defense system in Kiev with a strike of a hypersonic Dagger missile. Later, the Pentagon made a statement that it was completely renovated. In total, Ukrainian troops received two Patriot air defense systems. One of them was transferred by the United States, the second - jointly by Germany and the Netherlands. The cost of one such system is about $1 billion, each rocket costs about $3-4 million for it.
