On April 21, at the Ramstein meeting, the Ukrainian delegation will ask the allies to provide missiles for air defense systems.
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The Financial Times writes that the Armed Forces allegedly have few missiles for air defense systems. This worries not only the military and political command of Ukraine, but also some of the allies.
In their opinion, the shortage of anti-aircraft missile systems and ammunition for them may be a significant obstacle to a successful counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In particular, because the Russians can again use massive shelling of Ukrainian cities.
Western intelligence data provided to NATO allies earlier this year suggests that Russia is stockpiling fighter jets and attack helicopters near the front lines.
This prompted an immediate increase in air defense assistance, including due to the $2 billion US aid package that was announced at the end of February.
Officials also say infrastructure protection has depleted Ukraine’s reserves. Relevant information is also contained in the documents of American intelligence that got into the network.
They noted that Ukraine may run out of missiles for five critical air defense systems. The number of ammunition can be critically reduced until the end of May.
If it turns out to be true that Ukrainian air defence, which relies heavily on Russian equipment and munitions, is short of munitions, then this type of material cannot be replaced by an undertaking easily or quickly, said British General Sir Richard Barrons.
He added that there is a risk that when Ukraine is ready for a counteroffensive, its ability to protect the skies will be limited. And air cover is a critical element of any successful ground offensive.
At the same time, Western officials remain optimistic, citing Russia’s failure to gain air superiority and the continued flow of Western weapons into Ukraine. In addition, the reduction in the number of shelling of critical infrastructure has made it possible to conserve Ukrainian air defense reserves.
We see no threat that Ukraine will lose air superiority. Ukraine has enough [ППО]to protect yourself. [хоча] they are low, we had a year of conflict and no one has inexhaustible supplies,” said one of the interlocutors of the publication.
In Kyiv, they unofficially admitted that there was a problem. While this is recognized by anonymous FT sources. The newspaper refers to them as “European”, without specifying the country.
If ammunition for short-range air defense systems really runs out, then the consequences for Ukraine will be dire. If Russian bombers with “stupid” [некерованими] bombs will be able to fly up, everything looks gloomy, the newspaper quotes the source.
In recent years, Russia has made extensive use of aviation in Syria, where the rebels had no air defenses. This resulted in large-scale destruction of cities such as Aleppo. In Ukraine, Russian warplanes began to avoid Ukrainian airspace after the first few days of the war, operating either close to the front line or, like strategic bombers, thousands of kilometers away.
On Friday, another meeting of about 50 countries will be held in Ramstein on the priority needs of Ukraine, and the main topic will be precisely air defense – not tanks, not artillery ammunition, not combat aircraft, which were discussed a lot at past meetings.
According to another source of the newspaper, the recent transfer of MiG-29 fighters by Eastern European countries was dictated, first of all, by the desire to strengthen Ukrainian air defense.
Air supremacy is one of the main success factors in breaking through defense in depth, military experts say, and the fact that Ukraine cannot provide such a condition adds risks to the offensive.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.