Ukraine may have lost two of its most important weapons of war
They are of great strategic importance to Kiev. Now the Russians are said to have destroyed two vehicles with loaded Patriot launchers. Bitter loss – for many reasons.
Russia fears the Patriot system, which can even fire hypersonic missiles. Now they are said to have destroyed at least two strategically important structures.
Photo: (Image via Abacpress)
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Just before the impact, the Ukrainian convoy was moving along a road. Only a row of trees provides some privacy in the open area. Military equipment is hard to miss from the air, and at this point a Russian drone has already spotted the Ukrainians. A huge explosion follows, a fireball hundreds of meters into the sky. Video footage shows the incident, which reportedly took place last Saturday near Pokrovsk, far from the frontline in Donbass.
According to Russian reports, a hypersonic missile struck the convoy, presumably an Iskander missile. The Russian Defense Ministry released a video of the attack and boasted that it had destroyed a Ukrainian S-300 system, a Soviet-era anti-aircraft system.
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However, images of burned munitions released later suggest a different conclusion. If these pictures are true, Ukraine has lost at least two trucks with the militarily highly valuable Patriot launchers. magazine “Forbes” He said it first. Other war observers later shared this assessment, including: Austrian military expert Markus Reisner. The Russian state-controlled Tass news agency eventually reversed itself and said Russia had destroyed three Patriot launchers.
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This information cannot be independently verified. Ukraine has not commented on this yet.
Patriotic organizations can do that
Ukraine has received only three Patriot batteries from the US, Germany and the Netherlands. A battery consists of various units including command post, radar system and rocket launchers. Ukraine has a total of 28 throwers. Four of these launchers are carried on a truck. If the Russians have now destroyed at least two vehicles, the Ukrainians will still have 20 launchers.
It will be a bitter loss for Ukraine. Because patriotic organizations are of more strategic importance.
On the one hand, patriotic organizations could protect urban areas. Kiev also has a battery that has fired Kinsal-type hypersonic missiles in the past. This despite the fact that Russia once claimed that their Kinshal (punch) was “invincible”. Patriotic formations protect major cities from Russian airstrikes.
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The anti-aircraft system can also be used offensively to shoot down fighter jets. So the Patriot missile is expected to arrive by mid-January A Central Russian A-50 spy plane met
For such attacks, Ukrainians release individual launcher systems from batteries, military expert Reisner explained on N-TV. With the radar turned off, they would stealthily bring them to the front. Only when they hear a Russian jet by sound or sight will they briefly activate the radar and launch a missile. “The Russian pilots had no time to react,” Reisner said. According to Ukrainian sources, about 15 warplanes have been shot down in the past few weeks.
So it looks like the Russians may now have destroyed the Patriot missiles that regularly knocked their planes out of the sky. A loss would mean the Ukrainians would be further behind in the air war. Putin's military has ramped up its airstrikes in recent weeks. By dropping cruise bombs with an explosive force of more than a ton, they destroy Ukrainian positions every day. at Victory of Avdivka Russian airstrikes played an important role as the Ukrainians lacked defense systems.
A battery costs $1.1 billion
Now this shortage is likely to increase further. Russia could easily find putting the Ukrainian military in a predicament. Some Patriot systems can only cover limited airspace. Highlighting them will affect public safety in cities.
In theory, Western countries could provide additional patriotic organizations. But it may take several months for these to arrive in Ukraine. Not only is safe transportation challenging, Patriot batteries are also expensive. The US Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the battery will cost about $1.1 billion and the launcher system will cost $400 million.
Everywhere in the United States, patriotic organizations are mainly produced, and they prevent Republicans in the House of Representatives More military aid to Kiev. This means it will be difficult to replace every Patriots pitcher that is lost.
Aware of this, Russia has been attacking Ukrainian cities with particular intensity since the beginning of this year. This prompts Kiev to use its air defense reserves. And these come to an end, as it were “New York Times” citing government sources. If the West does not send massively more ammunition, supplies will run out Going out this month.
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