Ukrainian Air Force explains why Patriot systems cannot cover large areas

The colonel noted that for the war, the enemy has been upgrading its aerial attack capabilities — including drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.

This, in turn, is making Ukraine’s air defense increasingly difficult, including that of Western-supplied systems, he said.

At the same time, Ihnat emphasized that the key word is ‘complicates,’ not ‘renders impossible.

Speaking about unique systems like the Patriot surface-to-air missile systems, he noted that they can engage aerodynamic targets - such as aircraft and cruise missiles - within a range of up to 150 kilometers, and ballistic missiles, but only within a range of several dozen kilometers.

"It’s not possible to protect large areas from ballistic threats, especially considering that we don’t have many Patriot systems," Ihnat said.

He added that Ukrainian Air Force personnel remain on duty around the clock and are doing everything possible to shoot down as many Russian missiles and drones as they can.

Earlier, Yurii Ihnat, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force Command, reported that Russia has shifted its missile strike tactics against Ukraine, increasingly relying on ballistic missiles. He also noted that the enemy continues to modify its missiles and drones.

As previously reported, during Russia’s combined aerial assault on April 6, all ballistic missiles were directed at Kyiv and the surrounding region.

In total, the Russian military launched 23 missiles and 109 drones in the combined attack. Ukraine’s air defense forces shot down six Kh-101/Kh-55SM cruise missiles, six Kalibr cruise missiles, one Iskander-M ballistic missile, and 40 Shahed drones. An additional 53 enemy decoy drones were detected and lost in location tracking but caused no damage.

More on the aftermath of the overnight and early morning strikes can be found in a separate article by RBC-Ukraine.