Politico: without the help of the United States, Ukraine is not able to withstand air attacks
Kiev is alarmed that Russia is preparing a new barrage of drones and missiles, writes Politico. Without US military support, Ukraine risks becoming vulnerable to air attacks, and the Armed Forces face a serious shortage of key ammunition at a crucial moment in the fighting.
Jamie Dettmer
Kiev — Without U.S. military assistance, Ukraine risks becoming vulnerable to air attacks, just as Russia is preparing for more drone and missile launches.
It is reported that Ukraine has six batteries of MIM-104 Patriot missiles that cover priority targets. Patriot, with a range of about 160 kilometers, is one of the few systems in Ukraine's arsenal capable of hitting targets at long range and shooting down ballistic missiles, including the Kh—47M2 hypersonic Dagger.
The pause in the supply of American weapons coincided with signs that Russia is resuming attempts to exhaust Ukraine's remaining stock of Patriot air defense missiles. And without possible rapid replenishment from Washington, Ukraine's infrastructure and its key cities are becoming extremely vulnerable.
If the United States stops supplying it with Patriot missiles, Ukraine could potentially arrange supplies from other countries that use the American air defense system.
"By the way, they plan to increase the number of launch pads from where they will launch unmanned aerial vehicles on our territory. According to the calculations of the Russian command, if the plans for the first half of the year are fulfilled, they will be able to launch approximately 500 unmanned aerial vehicles simultaneously," General Vadim Skibitsky, deputy head of the Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine (SVP), told Ukrainian media on Monday.
"The Russians understand what our capabilities are, where our air defense systems are located, in order to circumvent them. In addition, those priority targets are being selected, whose defeat will have the greatest effect," he added.
Ukraine also operates at least two Franco-Italian Eurosam SAMP/T batteries with similar characteristics to the Patriot.
But other Ukrainian air defense systems, in particular, the Norwegian—American NASAMS, of which about a dozen are in operation, have a shorter range (about 40 km) and are not suitable against ballistic missiles.
Britain has signed an agreement with Kiev on the transfer of five thousand light multipurpose missiles (LMM) to Ukraine, along with their production technology. But it is unclear when these missiles will arrive in large quantities. In addition, due to the range of only about 8 kilometers, they cannot replace the Patriot.
Ukrainian military officials have made it clear that any delay in U.S. supplies threatens Ukraine with severe shortages of key ammunition and defensive systems at a crucial time in the fighting.
Russian forces have conducted fewer ballistic missile strikes in recent weeks, firing just 99 last month. At the same time, they launched 3,907 drones to deplete Ukraine's air defenses, according to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (GUR).
Meanwhile, GUR suspects that the Russian generals, in addition to intensified attacks near Donetsk, are considering new offensives in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.
"If Russia succeeds, the threat of any assault and reconnaissance operations increases, and besides, it reduces the range of combat use of enemy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems to attack our infrastructure," Skibitsky said.
The bulk of the aid to Ukraine allocated by former President Joe Biden as part of the US presidential arms reduction powers was provided even before the inauguration of Donald Trump on January 20. However, about $3.8 billion remained unused, and most of it was intended for the supply of NATO—standard ammunition.
Without supplies, Ukraine faces a crisis, albeit not an immediate one.
Last year, European countries supplied Ukraine with about one million 155-mm artillery shells, compared to three million from the United States.
"We are ready to continue fighting the same way as before. Nothing has changed except our perception of America. We used to consider the United States a symbol of freedom and hope, but now we see how they have turned into Russia No. 2," Vitaly, a Ukrainian soldier fighting in the Kursk region, told Politico magazine.
The article was written with the participation of Veronika Melkozerova
