2024-01-04 16:31:53
The Ukrainian army worries about its ability to further resist Russian air attacks
Ukrainian mobile air defense has enough ammunition to cope with ” a few ” new large-scale Russian strikes, warns a Ukrainian general. “In the current situation, with regard to mobile air defense systems, munitions (…) are sufficient to resist the next powerful attacks »assures General Serhi Naïev, the commander of the Ukrainian joint forces, interviewed Wednesday by Agence France-Presse (AFP) during a meeting with other soldiers near Kiev.
“But, in the medium and long term, we of course need help from Western countries to replenish the missile stock”, underlines the one who has under his command these units responsible in particular for defending the sky of the capital. For him, the priority is therefore to“get more ammo” facing a Russian army which “really wants to exhaust the air defense system”.
Russian attacks have increased in recent days. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia has sent nearly 300 missiles and more than 200 Shahed explosive drones against Ukraine since December 29, 2023. These attacks continue to cause numerous victims: around fifty dead in Friday’s attack, including thirty in kyiv, five in Tuesday’s attack and hundreds of civilians injured.
General Naev presented medals to the soldiers protecting the skies, welcoming “effectiveness rate of around 90%” during Tuesday’s Russian air attack. “No other air defense system in the world is capable of showing such results, especially when it comes to fighting Russia”he believes.
Residents of a building gutted by the latest Russian strikes in kyiv, however, expressed their anger to AFP on Tuesday after the Ukrainian defense failed to save their homes. General Naïev promises, for his part, that “improving the effectiveness of the air defense system is our task and we are working on it twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week”.
According to Roman, a soldier who uses a US Stinger man-portable missile launcher, Russia has started resorting to new tactics recently. “The Russians are now firing missiles that release decoy rockets in flight, like those from planes or helicopters. This has never happened before…and it’s a problem for the Stinger.” and their infrared aiming system, he explains.
These decoys are much hotter than the missile’s exhaust gases and can thus fool these defense systems. Fortunately for his unit, during Tuesday’s attack, the decoys didn’t work, he said.
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