First Deputy Minister of Defense Ivan Havryliuk said that Ukraine has asked its partners to provide ten Patriot air defense systems. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Forces use the existing systems exclusively to shoot down russian ballistic missiles.
He said this in an interview with BBC Ukraine.
Havryliuk said that Ukraine has asked its partners for at least ten Patriot medium-range systems, which are capable of shooting down russian ballistic missiles, including hypersonic air-ballistic Kinzhals.
It is noted that when asked how acute the shortage of missiles and ammunition to defend against russian missile attacks is, the general answered evasively, indicating that the Defense Forces use Patriot missiles "exclusively to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles."
The newspaper suggested that this means Ukraine cannot afford to use these weapons against other targets, such as cruise missiles.
In the summer, U.S. President Donald Trump promised to provide Ukraine with Patriot, but since then nothing has been reported about the delivery. Havryliuk said that "there is movement in this direction," but declined to elaborate.
At the same time, he said, Ukraine asked for missiles not only for Patriot, but also for other air defense systems. He explained that this is necessary to "distribute the load between different levels of defense and guarantee a reserve in case of an increase in the intensity of massive strikes."
Meanwhile, the First Deputy Minister of Defense confirmed that it is becoming increasingly difficult to counter russian long-range Shahed drones.
"In 2023, when they were just starting to be used, they had 4-channel antennas and were relatively vulnerable to electronic warfare," he said.
Now, he said, drones are being fitted with 16-channel systems that can change the frequencies of received signals and pass through jamming zones. In combination with the tactics of massive strikes, such drones have a greater effect than before.
It is indicated that "multi-echelon" defense lines are used to repel attacks. The defense systems include anti-aircraft missile systems, mobile fire groups, interceptor drones, electronic warfare equipment to jam control channels, and aviation, including F-16 fighters.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Israeli Patriot air defense system has been operating in Ukraine for about a month.
Meanwhile, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany will deliver two MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine by the end of the year. The delivery will be made with the support of Norway.
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