Without sufficient weapons to advance on the front, Ukraine It must content itself for the moment with wearing down the enemy and minimizing its own vulnerabilities in a conflict that is expected to be long.
The year that ends has been marked by the asymmetric war that the Ukrainians have successfully waged in the Black Sea, where the Russian Fleet has been forced to withdraw to its coasts in the east.
This unexpected setback for the Kremlin – which the British Ministry of Defense has described as “functional defeat” Russian – has allowed Ukraine to partially reopen its ports and reduce the pressure on its territory caused by having Russian submarines and missile carriers near its coasts.
If this has been the year of successes at sea, Kiev hopes that the coming year will be the year of victory in the sky, waiting for more favorable circumstances to also achieve advances on land that will allow it to recover its territory.
“In 2023, Ukraine expelled the Russian Fleet from most of the Black Sea. “2024 must be the year Ukraine expels Russia from its skies”declared the president Volodymyr Zelensky this week.
To achieve this, he explained, Ukraine will have to receive more air defense systems from its Western allies, which continue to send new Patriot, Hawk or IRIS-T missile launchers in dribs and drabs in the face of winter, when it is feared that Russia will launch another bombing campaign against the infrastructure. energy.
Protect major cities
One of the objectives of the Zelensky administration is to guarantee the security of the main “7 or 8 cities” of Ukraine with their respective regions, so that millions of refugees return from abroad and reactivate the economy to reduce the country’s dependence on international aid that could decrease.
Protecting agricultural and port infrastructure that Russia has repeatedly bombed in the second half of this year is another Ukrainian priority.
“This will allow us to export hundreds of thousands of additional tons of agricultural products”Zelensky highlighted.
The head of state has stressed that providing Ukraine with sufficient anti-aircraft defenses is a profitable investment for its allies: the less infrastructure Russia can destroy, the less money will have to be invested in the reconstruction of the invaded country.
Extend the coat of arms of kyiv
The anti-aircraft shield that Zelensky aspires to deploy over its ports and large cities is already a reality in Kiev, where the best defense systems received from the West have been positioned and a protection architecture has been formed capable of intercepting all drones and types of missiles that Russia has.
The reality is much less encouraging in the rest of Ukraine’s regions, where the Russians can achieve many of their proposed objectives through the use of missiles that are difficult to intercept or through saturation tactics that they use to overwhelm defenses. Ukrainians where these are scarcer.
Ukraine’s needs
As the military expert explains to EFE Alexander KovalenkoUkraine needs anti-aircraft protection at three different levels.
“Short-range systems are cannons and anti-aircraft missile systems, such as the German Gepard, the French Crotale or the British Alvis Stormer, which intercept subsonic targets such as the Shahed kamikaze drones or the Kh-101/555 missiles and the Kalibr”Kovalenko said.
Regarding the medium range, Ukraine aspires to receive more systems such as NASAMS or IRIS-T, which are effective in shooting down missiles as long as they are not ballistic or supersonic, which requires long-range weapons and cutting-edge technology such as Patriot and the SAMP-T.
“Unfortunately, Ukraine currently does not have enough systems of almost any of these types to cover its airspace”says the military expert, adding that long-range systems are the most pressing need.
The Odessa case
Aware of this, Kovalenko continues, Russia uses ballistic and supersonic missiles such as Iskander, Onyx or Kinzhal against cities with insufficient air defenses.
The region most in need of these latter systems is Odessa. The country’s main ports are located there, which have been attacked practically daily for months.
“For example, in July and August the Russians launched 9M723/9M728 OTRK Iskander, Kh-22/32, P-800 Onyx missiles against the city and region of Odessa with complete impunity, knowing that they were not protected by Patriot or SAMP systems. -T”says Kovalenko.
With information from EFE.
Source: Gestion
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