Major General Mykola Zhirnov, head of the Kyiv City Military Command, was asked by a correspondent of the Ukrainian publication ArmyInform whether the capital is “reliably protected by air defense” and “will no longer be threatened by rocket attacks.” “As long as the enemy has missiles and aerial weapons, there will still be a risk of air and missile strikes,” Zhirnov replied, according to a translation of the interview. However, the general added that 50 to 70 percent of Russian missiles are shot down “by aircraft and by anti-aircraft missile units.” “But, unfortunately, today we cannot ensure 100% effectiveness of air defense operations, this is due to objective reasons — insufficient number of means of reconnaissance, aviation and anti-aircraft missile systems. “Basically, these are Soviet systems, which do not have the same effectiveness and reliability as the air defense equipment of NATO partner countries,” he said. Above, a Ukrainian soldier sits next to an anti-aircraft missile while resting in eastern Ukraine on April 28. A Ukrainian general said his country’s air defense forces are capable of shooting down 50 to 70 percent of Russian missiles in an interview published Saturday. Yasuyoshi Chiba
Ukraine is fighting back
In one incident last month, the Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down seven Russian missiles. Ukraine claimed that Moscow had launched them from somewhere near the Caspian Sea and that anti-aircraft missile forces and a fighter jet managed to destroy seven of the eight of them. On Friday, Ukraine said it shot down a Russian reconnaissance drone called “Kartograf”. Ukrainian officials said the drone is used to adjust or orchestrate artillery or missile fire. “On 02 September, at approximately 09:00 the Russian drone ‘Kartograf’ disappeared in the sky above Mykolaiv by the Air Force’s anti-aircraft missile unit. The drone is part of the Ptero multipurpose unmanned system family. “, the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine wrote in a Facebook post. Late last month, the Ukrainian military said it had killed nearly 160 Russian soldiers after launching rocket and artillery bombardments as part of its counteroffensive in southern Ukraine. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.
The fight for Kherson
Ukraine is currently attempting to recapture the city of Kherson, which has been occupied by Russia since the beginning of the invasion of the country, which began in late February. In an interview published Saturday in the Wall Street Journal, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksiy Arestovyc, said there is “no rush” to retake the city and that when it comes to targeting the Russians, Ukrainian forces are looking to “uncover their operational logistical supply system and destroy it with artillery and [HIMARS].” HIMARs, or High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems, have been provided to Ukraine by the United States in recent months as a tool to fight the Kremlin on the battlefield. A senior US military official said this week that HIMARs have led to a drop in morale among Russian troops. Meanwhile, Ukrainian political scientist Ihor Reiterovych told NV Radio last month that Kherson’s return to Ukraine would be a significant loss for the Kremlin. “It would indeed be a colossal blow to them in terms of their overall prospects in this war that they are waging against Ukraine and Russia’s ability to win it,” he said, according to The New Voice of Ukraine.
