Ukrainian minister sees serious air defense crisis
The Ukrainian air defense continues to fight strongly. Despite some positive signals from the West, the situation remains difficult. The Ukrainian Energy Minister has little hope of protecting the country's infrastructure against Russian air raids due to the ammunition shortage.
Ukraine is still struggling to gain control of the airspace. Russia can still conduct heavy air raids, which often result in civilian casualties and massive damage to energy infrastructure. The Ukrainian Energy Minister is alarmed by the situation.
According to Dmytro Sacharuk, there is still a severe shortage of surface-to-air missiles. He told the "Kyiv Post": "It seems that for every missile we have, five to six Russian missiles attack. When ten missiles attack, we need at least twelve missiles in air defense." Currently, there is no way to protect the energy infrastructure, which is constantly being repaired, according to Sacharuk.
An Old Problem
This problem is not new. A Ukrainian soldier reported in an Air Force report at the end of April: "The helplessness due to the lack of surface-to-air missiles is more alarming than dangerous missions at Bachmut." An analysis of the daily data of the Ukrainian Air Force by the "Wall Street Journal" in May showed that only about 46% of the Russian missiles could be intercepted in the past six months. US military aid has resumed its momentum, but, according to Ukrainian reports, it is still not enough to make a significant impact on the battlefield.
Dangerous are also glide bombs, which are seldom or hardly intercepted. They are difficult to detect, as military expert Colonel Reisner explained in an interview with ntv.de. To eliminate Russian aircraft that drop these glide bombs more effectively, the use of F-16 fighter jets is hoped for. However, it is unclear when these jets and pilots, the first of whom are supposed to be combat-ready this summer, will actually make a difference in the front lines.
A improvement in the situation is also expected from further air defense systems. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had emphasized in the past few months that Ukraine needs at least seven more of these systems.
A quick promise came from Germany for a unit and a similarly effective IRIS-T system. However, many other partners of Kiev were hesitant. Later, Italy promised an SAMP/T air defense unit. Romania, the Netherlands, and the USA also want to deliver an additional Patriot system each, as was announced this month.
It is also crucial that Ukraine's partners not only make these late promises but also equip the country with many surface-to-air missiles to effectively counter the expected attacks on civilian infrastructure.
- The shortage of surface-to-air missiles, such as the Ukrainian's need for more Patriot air defense systems, has been a persistent problem, as a Ukrainian soldier in an Air Force report from the end of April stated.
- Despite positive signals from the West, the Ukrainian Energy Minister, Dmytro Sacharuk, is alarmed by the consistent inability to protect the country's infrastructure against Russian air raids, emphasizing that they are inadequately guarded against glide bombs, which are seldom intercepted.
- Furthermore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has highlighted the urgent need for at least seven more air defense systems in the past few months due to the ongoing attacks on Ukraine, with some nations, such as Germany (IRIS-T system), Italy (SAMP/T air defense unit), Romania, the Netherlands, and the USA (Patriot system), having promised to provide an additional unit each this month.
