All Patriot air defense systems working, despite Russia's claims — Air Force spokesman
All Patriot air defense systems are in working order, Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat announced during national telethon.
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"I really want the Russian military to believe that they are destroying everything in our country. It is clear that this is done for propaganda, to show some 'perfect' Russian weapons that are superior to their Western counterparts," Ihnat said.
He noted that all Patriots are in working order and protect Ukrainian skies.
"The destruction of six 'Kinzhals' on June 16 is the best proof of this. All systems are working. Russia wants to destroy all our weapons," explained the Air Force spokesman.
Earlier, the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin voiced another figure invented by the Russians about Ukrainian weapons "destroyed" by the occupiers – according to him, the Russian army allegedly neutralized five Patriot systems near Kyiv.
REFERENCE. Patriot systems were first deployed by the US Army in the mid-1980s. Patriot is being modernized and is in service with more than 10 countries, including the USA, Israel, Germany, and Spain.
According to the German military, Patriot covers an area with a radius of about 68 km. The radar can track up to 50 targets and target five of them simultaneously. Depending on the modification, interceptor missiles can reach a height of more than 24 km and hit targets at a distance of up to 160 km.
On June 1, President Zelenskyy called for the creation of the Patriot coalition to strengthen Ukraine's air defense infrastructure.
Russian media regularly lies about the fact that their military allegedly managed to destroy Patriot systems in Ukraine. The Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has repeatedly refuted these fakes of the Russians. Even if the system was damaged, it was insignificant and was swiftly mended.
According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine needs 50 Patriot batteries to fully protect the civilian population from some types of Russian missiles.