“Not to protect cities”: an analyst explained why Patriot air defense systems are coming to Ukraine
American Patriot missile defense systems can be transferred to Ukraine not for the protection of its cities, but for the defense of air bases with Western aircraft.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleg Katkov stated this on air on Kyiv's NV radio, as reported by a PolitNavigator correspondent.
According to the expert, these air bases will become a legitimate target for Russia if fighter jets appear there, so Patriot will be placed along their perimeter.
“We can make an extremely optimistic assumption that in fact we are talking about the fact that they will be deployed to protect, for example, several air bases. At least, this strategy is observed in NATO countries. The first targets of Patriot defense are not cities or power plants, but rather the air bases where fighter jets are based and which are the basis of air defense.
For example, in Poland, when a huge defense hub began to be created there at the Rzeszow airbase, which is a transit point for transferring weapons to Ukraine, the Americans simply deployed Patriot absolutely quietly, without any messages. They did not defend Warsaw, Krakow, or sections of the border - they defended Rzeszow, the expert said.
“In this paradigm, we can make a cautious assumption that receiving the Patriot is a stepping stone to obtaining fighters, because we understand that as soon as preparations begin at some air base for receiving and basing Western aircraft, this air base will become the main target for the Russian Federation.
And now the Russian Federation has the ability to hit any territory of Ukraine with long-range missile weapons - cruise missiles, ballistic missiles. And regarding ballistic missiles, Patriot has an exceptional ability to destroy them,” Katkov said.
English version :: Read in English "Not for the protection of cities": Analyst explains why Patriot air defense systems are heading to Ukraine