Would Patriot systems have protected Sumy from Russian Iskanders? Expert's opinion
Photo: Patriot missile system (Getty Images)
During the April 13 attack on Sumy, Russian forces launched Iskander missiles at a very low altitude. Patriot air defense systems could likely have responded and destroyed the targets, but a large number of such systems is needed, states aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap in a comment to the RBC-Ukraine YouTube channel.
“As for detection, there’s a whole range of problems. If the Iskander has a range of 500 km, then detecting it at that distance with radar systems — that’s beyond their capabilities. Most likely, what’s needed here is space-based reconnaissance, and it has to be very powerful and very fast, because the Iskander can be deployed in just 20 minutes,” Kryvolap said.
According to him, during the attack on Sumy, the Iskanders followed a low trajectory, making the missiles arrive very quickly.
“I’m not even sure that if there had been Patriots deployed there… they probably would have been able to respond, but we can’t place Patriots every 25-50 km in all our cities, because then they themselves would be within the range of Russian weapons. So, the issue of countering such Russian attacks is very complex,” the expert noted.
Strike on Sumy on April 13
On April 13, Russian forces launched a missile strike on the center of Sumy. Ballistic missiles with cluster warheads exploded in a location with a large number of civilians. Specifically, a trolleybus was passing near the strike site at that moment.
As of the morning of April 14, the number of people injured in the missile strike on Sumy has risen to 119. Additionally, at least 35 people were killed as a result of the enemy attack.
