Ukraine’s Air Defense Is in Shambles — Expert
US Patriot systems seen at a test range in Sochaczew, Poland, on Saturday, March 21, 2015.
Due to an acute shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles, Ukraine is forced to prioritize and «forgo intercepting targets deemed not critically important,» Chinese military expert Qiu Shiqing tells Sputnik.He points to damning numbers, such as when Ukraine’s US-supplied Patriot air defenses failed to intercept a single Russian ballistic missile during the strikes that pummeled transport and logistics centers for the storage of weapons and military cargo on August 1.In the pundit’s opinion, that calculated risk translates into direct hits on Ukraine’s power grids, railways, and seaports — systems already running on empty.Regional blackouts are expanding, infrastructure is buckling, and if the situation continues to worsen, «Ukraine’s prospects for the coming winter look bleak,» the analyst notes.Given current Patriot interceptor production rates, and with the US prioritizing the replenishment of its own stockpiles, Ukraine is unlikely to receive enough interceptors from either the US or Europe, the analyst concludes.
AnalysisWhy NATO’s Air Defense Shield in Ukraine Can’t Keep Up With Russia’s Strike Arsenal30 July, 14:54 GMT
