Air Defence Top Priority for Ukraine

Air defence is Ukraine's top priority as we approach winter and the impending cold weather.

On the night of 08 September Ukraine was once again attacked by drones - 16 out of 20 UAVs were destroyed by air defence forces over the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions. It is likely that the Shahed-136/131 attack drones are now already being manufactured on Russian territory. Russian spare parts were found in the downed UAVs. Putin will not stop terrorising Ukraine by continuing to strike with missiles and drones. With cold weather coming soon, most of these strikes will be against Ukraine's energy infrastructure - similar to the last heating season. The Kremlin will once again attempt to make life unbearable for Ukrainians by depriving them of heat and electricity. Supplies of modern air and missile defence equipment for the Ukrainian Armed Forces are critical and will save the lives of thousands of Ukrainians.

Russia has committed another war crime in Ukraine: in the morning of 08 September there was a missile strike on Kryvyi Rih, the tragedy resulted in the death of 1 local resident. Preliminary figures suggest that over 40 people were injured, 3 administrative buildings and 7 residential houses were damaged. Ukraine's frontline and border settlements with the Russian Federation are those most often affected by Russian attacks - due to the short distance, air defence systems cannot always destroy missiles (especially ballistic missiles) that fly to Kharkiv, Dnipro, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka. With these bombardments, Putin wants to cause additional civilian casualties in Ukraine.

Last autumn and winter, the Russian Air Force used a wide range of missiles against the Ukrainian energy sector - the Russian military doctrine describes in detail the tactics of destroying the energy infrastructure of a country against which Russia is waging war. In the perception of the Kremlin's military strategists, this should contribute to the surrender of the enemy. A year and a half into the so-called "SMO," which has become the bloodiest war in modern Europe, Russian propagandists have discarded all conventions and openly refer to Ukraine as "the enemy" and Ukrainian territories as "the target of this war." As the situation of the Russian army - exsanguinated and degraded - worsens, so does the hatred of Russians for Ukrainians. In particular, the highest-rated propaganda programmes are calling for the total destruction of Ukraine and then Europe. Accordingly, missiles and drones have become an instrument of genocide against Ukrainians, which is openly talked about in the Russian Federation.

Russia is committing new war crimes in Ukraine on a daily basis - Putin is not guided by common sense and will continue missile attacks on Ukrainian cities at all costs. In this respect, supplying the most advanced air defence systems - such as Patriot, SAMP(T) IRIS-T will reliably protect the Ukrainian skies and help Ukraine survive another hard winter. There is no alternative to this solution: the Russian threat has become a challenge for Europe, and only proper support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces can eliminate this threat.