Bild journalist says Ukraine is out of Patriot and Iris-T missiles: Air Force response
Ukrainian Air Force on shortage of missiles in Ukraine (Getty Images)
A journalist from Bild claims that Ukraine has run out of missiles for the Patriot and Iris-T systems. However, Ukrainian Air Force officials insist that the panic is unnecessary, as their partners are informed about the needs of the country, and Ukrainian air defense forces effectively repel enemy attacks, according to a tweet from Bild journalist Julian Röpcke and a comment from Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Illiaa Yevlash.
According to Röpcke, Ukraine has depleted its stock of Patriot and Iris-T missiles. Additionally, he claims that most other air defense supplies have been exhausted or destroyed.
"We have hundreds of systems and thousands of missiles in our depots. No words. Just anger," Röpcke stated.
Ukrainian Air Force response
Commenting on the issue, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Illia Yevlash said that Ukraine needs more such missiles.
"Above all, we must understand that Ukraine does not produce these systems (Patriot and SAMP/T) and the ammunition for them. Therefore, we obviously need more missiles," Yevlash said.
He informed that partner countries are aware of this need and know how many missiles Ukraine has and how many more are needed.
"However, there is no need to panic. As you can see from today's results, our mobile fire groups have performed well. 16 out of 17 Shahed drones were shot down, nearly 100 percent of them," Yevlash said.
There are results, but Patriots are needed
According to the Air Force spokesman, yesterday also saw a good result from the air defense forces.
"We shot down 16 out of 20 Kh-101 and Kh-555 missiles. Almost all 40 drones were shot down. Two out of four Kh-59 missiles. The Kinzhal missiles are hard to intercept, of course," he said, emphasizing that these targets are extremely difficult to destroy and require a large number of Patriot systems.
Yevlash asserts that currently this is the only weapon that can effectively counter powerful air attack means of the enemy, and there is an expectation that partners will soon supply these air defense systems to Ukraine.
Assistance to Ukraine
At the end of February, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that transferring ten Patriot missile systems to Ukraine would significantly affect the situation in the war with Russia. He noted that 25 systems with 6-8 batteries each are needed to fully close the sky.
On April 4, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba revealed that Germany is initiating an immediate search for all available Patriot batteries and other air defense systems not only among allies but also globally to transfer them to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, France is preparing a new package of military assistance for Kyiv, which will include hundreds of armored vehicles and Aster anti-aircraft missiles.
Recently, the Czech Foreign Minister said that instead of 800,000 shells, 1.5 million shells could be transferred to Ukraine as part of the initiative.
The heads of governments of the Netherlands, Denmark, and Czechia discussed the supply of additional air defense systems to Ukraine on April 10.
