Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal, He has recognized the particular risk facing missile supply for the Patriot Air Defense Systemfrom the United States ,. Despite this, being optimistic Given the possibility that Ukraine can work with the White House and other European allies to solve the problem sooner rather than later.
At a press conference, Shmyhal emphasized that his country continues to receive air defense systems, missiles and ammunition from its partnersand that the reservations They are provided with multiple sources.
He stressed, without a doubt, the important role of the United States in the supply of the patriot system, which he described as The only defense capable of counteracting Russian ballistic missiles. And he pointed out that the main concern is guarantee continuous reparation, repair and supply For the patriot system so that Ukraine can maintain its defense against current threats. However, he expressed his trust in which a solution can be found in coordination with the country’s allies.
Ukraine, it’s true, It only has a way of protecting against the most powerful ballistic missiles of Russia: the patriot American manufacturing. Now that the United States has suspended shipments from military material to kyiv. Your brake can have devastating consequences, . Patriot have the problem that they are directly irreplaceable. Ukrainian soldiers told the aforementioned chain that Your greatest concern Immediate is not the impact of the cuts on the front, but the lack of patriot missiles that protect their families and loved ones in Ukrainian cities.
“The United States has the license of patriot missile systems, as well as its productionwhich makes it very difficult for several European countries to re -manufacture them, “said Kateryna Stepanenko, an an analyst and boss of the Russian team of the War Study Institute, a Conflict Observatory based in the United States.
The Patriots are the cream of the cream of the teams supplied by the United States to Ukraine and play a crucial role in Ukrainian aerial defenses. That’s why, The risk of losing them has sown panic among Ukrainian authorities. It is seen in Shmyhal’s words. “We can destroy all other means of terror of Ukraine by Russia with what we have in Ukraine, manufactured here or received from our partners,” he added.
Russia has been launching waves of ballistic missiles and cruise towards Ukraine regularlyand has been attacking cities, energy infrastructures and civil objectives weekly. Last summer he released a cruise missile against a kyiv Children’s Hospital.
Balistic missiles follow a curved trajectory that takes them out of the earth’s atmosphere, before submerging again and reaching its goal. They travel at extremely high speeds, which makes them very difficult to intercept.
For their part, cruise missiles are unmanned vehicles propelled by reaction engines, such as airplanes, which can be launched from land, sea or air. They are difficult to detect because they are usually smaller and they fly lowand some can also move at high speed.
At the same time, Moscow It has increased its arsenals at a rate that Ukraine cannot follow. Russia manufactures more ammunition and acquires them from allies such as North Korea.
It is not clear how many missiles Ukraine has in its arsenales and if more supplies in the United States are already on their way. A Ukrainian official declared CNN on Tuesday that kyiv’s Patriot missile reserves could be exhausted in a matter of weeks.
The Ukrainian soldiers on the front also rushed to point out the Patriots as a key piece of the team that Ukraine cannot afford to lose. “Our weak point are the anti -aircraft missiles, the Patriots”said Yegor Firsov, sergeant chief of a drone attack squad. “Even to us, the military, we would like our families, our rear, were protected as much as possible when we serve in the front line,” he said.
Patriot antiamal defense system, in a file image. 
Effective defense, huge cost
The Patriot, In use for almost 40 yearsThey are widely considered one of the best anti -aircraft systems. They are capable of Droller cruise and hypersonic missiles, short -range ballistic missiles and aircraft.
Are effectiveness It makes them a key objective for Moscow: the Russian army has attacked systems several times.
Zelenski said in the past that Ukraine would need about 25 patriot systems to effectively defend your airspace. Currently has approximately Half dozenalthough the exact number and its location are jealously saved secrets.
At first, the United States was shown reluctant to supply the patriot to Ukraine, and only agreed After months of attacks Russian air almost daily against Ukrainian civil objectives.
The first batteries arrived in Ukraine about 14 months later that Russia will launch its large -scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and since then they have become an integral part of the Air Defenses of Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials have said previously that the country He received three US systems, one from Germany, one of the Netherlands and one from Romania. It is known that more than a dozen countries have patriot systems, including Greece, Saudi Arabia, Poland and South Korea, but have been reluctant to send them to Ukraine due to the threats they face themselves.
Analysts claim that the Ukrainian army has been using the Patriots extremely effective, Drolling missiles that Moscow claimed that they were impossible to intercept, such as Kinzhal Balistic missiles.
But this has a huge cost. With an estimated cost of about 1.1 billion dollars for each systemPatriots are, by far, the most expensive team sent by the allies to Ukraine.
According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies, patriot missiles cost some 4 million each, An incredibly high price.
There are some alternative systems, such as Nasams and Iris-T, which have demonstrated their effectiveness against cruise missiles and drones, But they cannot be equated with the patriot With regard to protection against advanced hypersonic missiles and ballistic.
A weapon that could replace the patriot It is the SAMP/T Air Defense System of Eurosam, a European manufacturer. Ukraine would need many more of these systems to be as effective as the patriot, and there are currently important system supply problems.
Solving supply problems will be key for Europe to intervene and provide more help to Ukraine. Although patriot are the key systems that most concern Ukraine in the short term, the magnitude and amplitude of the help from the United States means that other problems are likely to soon arise.
USA He had been supplying to Ukraine Artillery ammunition, armored vehicles, obuses and missile systems such as Himars and Atacms.
According to the Kiel Institute, which supervises Ukraine aid, military supplies from Europe are comparable to those of the United States. Zelenski has declared that national production It covers approximately 30% of the needs of Ukraine.
