During the winter months, soldiers in the Ukraine war face particularly challenging tasks. The supply of resources and Ukraine’s infrastructure are acutely threatened, especially by targeted Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian energy networks. In this critical scenario, the Patriot system has already proven to be extremely effective and supportive.
The Patriot air defense system forms the outermost line of defense of the Ukrainian air defense shield and represents a significant protection. Ukraine has two of these Patriot systems, one provided by the USA and the other by Germany and the Netherlands. With an impressive success rate of 90 percent, this system is considered extremely effective.
The actual performance was impressively demonstrated in May when a total of three Russian attacks over the Russian border region of Bryansk were repelled within just five minutes. This included both two Russian jets and three helicopters.
In July, the Ukrainian government presented an insightful video documenting the attack and successful defense against Russia in the spring. Additionally, the Patriot system has proven its effectiveness against hypersonic missiles, which was also confirmed by the Pentagon. Kyiv managed to intercept a Russian missile using the Patriot missile defense system, which apparently was a Kinzhal missile.
Colonel Yuriy Ihnat, spokesman for the Air Force, proudly announced according to the German news website Münchner Merkur that Ukraine has now been able to successfully repel a total of 15 such missiles. In addition, the Patriot system has apparently neutralized ‘dozens’ of other ballistic missiles targeting Kyiv.
Image: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, Vladimir Putin and Sergey Shoigu – Saint-Petersburg 2017-07-30 (1).jpg, via Wikimedia Commons (no changes made)