US President Donald Trump has announced that he will supply Ukraine with more Patriot air defence systems, which will be sold to Washington’s NATO allies who would then pass them on to Ukraine.
Trump specified that 17 Patriot systems would be deployed, stating, “It’s everything. It’s Patriots. It’s all of them. It’s a full complement with the batteries.” The systems will be used to defend against Russian air raids, including ballistic missiles and drones.
The Patriot systems have proven effective in intercepting Russian missiles, including Kinzhal intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were previously thought to be unstoppable.
However, experts say that while the new Patriots will lower the lethality of Russian air raids, they won’t cross any “red lines” for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s military needs more than just Patriot systems to defend against Russian air raids. Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy head of the Ukrainian military’s General Staff, said that Ukraine needs up to 25 more Patriot systems to cover its key urban areas.
Romanenko also emphasized the need for drone interceptors that can fly at speeds of up to 500 kilometers per hour, as Moscow equips new generations of its unmanned vehicles with jet engines.
The Ukrainian air force has been using the Patriot systems to down Russian drones and missiles, but the systems are not 100% efficient. Romanenko said that the quantity of interceptors is what matters, and that Ukraine needs hundreds of them to effectively defend against Russian air raids. “If they launch more than 700 [drones per attack], if they are capable of upping it to 1,000, then we need hundreds of interceptors,” Romanenko said.
Andrey Pronin, one of the pioneers of Ukrainian drone warfare, said that Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence has been slow to develop drone interceptors. “Everything is on an amateur level,” Pronin said, adding that he was part of a team that developed an interceptor drone capable of catching up to Russian loitering munitions, but the ministry didn’t show any interest.
Despite the challenges, the Ukrainian air force has had some successes, including the use of the German-made Skynex air defence system, which shot down six Russian-made Geran drones on Saturday. However, more needs to be done to effectively defend against Russian air raids.