(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian air force officials admitted that the country’s air defense arsenal has been exhausted as Kiev tries to shoot down Russian missiles and drones.
Firefighters extinguish a fire at a warehouse in Kiev during a Russian missile attack on December 29, 2023 (Photo: Reuters).
`Russia’s intense air strikes force us to use a corresponding number of air defense systems. That’s why we need more air defense systems, as Russia constantly strengthens its offensive capabilities,`
Russian forces have stepped up airstrikes over the past two weeks, launching hundreds of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at targets across Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that it used long-range precision weapons and drones to attack Ukraine’s defense industrial infrastructure in recent days.
On the morning of January 8, a Russian attack was carried out against military industrial facilities in the Kharkiv, Dnepropetrovsk, Khmelnitsky and Zaporizhia regions.
Previously, Russia’s attack on December 29 was described by Ukrainian officials as the largest air strike ever since the conflict broke out, when 158 missiles and UAVs were launched, killing at least 39 people.
On January 2, Russia continued to launch a new attack with more than 130 missiles, including 10 `super` Kinzhal missiles and UAVs.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week that since December 29, Russia has launched about 500 missiles and drones into Ukraine.
A Ukrainian air force spokesman admitted that Kiev is dependent on the supply of guided missiles for Soviet-era air defense systems as well as systems provided by the West.
Speaking via video at a Swedish defense conference on January 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Kiev was lacking air defense systems `on the battlefield and in Ukrainian cities`.
President Zelensky once admitted that the West has lost the urgency to support Ukraine, leaving Kiev forces vulnerable as Russia conducts new air and ground campaigns.
The shortage of Ukraine’s air defense systems comes at a time when the United States, Ukraine’s largest military aid country, has run out of money to send more weapons to Kiev.
US President Joe Biden’s plan to provide $61.4 billion in additional aid to Ukraine in a $106 billion emergency spending bill has stalled in Congress, amid criticism from Republican lawmakers.
Meanwhile, the European Union’s (EU) 50 billion euro ($54.6 billion) aid package has not been approved due to Hungary’s veto last December.
Kiev is hoping for short-term help from the group of countries supporting Ukraine in NATO, scheduled to meet in Brussels this week.
`First of all, we expect the meeting to accelerate important decisions to further strengthen Ukraine’s air defense capabilities, including modern systems and ammunition of these systems,` Mr. Kuleba said.
Foreign Minister Kuleba added that the supply of missiles to Ukraine’s Patriot, IRIS-T and NASAMS air defense systems is `a top priority that must be completed today, not tomorrow`.