Cool the rear: The air defense of Ukraine cannot cope with the attacks of the Russian Armed Forces

During the massive strike by the Russian Armed Forces on the night of March 7, Ukraine's air defense did not work as effectively as before, experts interviewed by Izvestia say. According to them, this was facilitated, among other things, by the use of Gerber and Geranium drones by our troops as distracting targets. During the attack, the emphasis was placed on defeating the infrastructure that ensures the operation of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex. Its destruction became a priority goal for our troops after Kiev officially refused to transit Russian gas to Europe, experts say. In their opinion, such actions should seriously hinder the work of the military-industrial complex and undermine the stability of the Kiev regime. The information about which enemy targets were hit and how the termination of military assistance from the United States affects Ukraine's defense capability is in the Izvestia article.

All objects are affected

On the night of March 7, the Russian Armed forces launched a strike with precision weapons and drones on the territory of Ukraine. As a result of the attack, the facilities of the gas-energy infrastructure that ensures the operation of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine were hit, the Russian Defense Ministry said. All the planned targets were hit, the Russian military department stressed.

That night, an air alert was announced throughout Ukraine. Critical infrastructure facilities were severely damaged in the Ternopil and Kherson regions. The Ukrainian energy holding company DTEK reported that over the past two and a half weeks, its sixth energy facility in the Odessa region has been destroyed. It is also known about the defeat of an industrial enterprise in the Chernihiv region.

From March 1 to March 7, the Russian army carried out seven massive strikes with precision weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Military airfields, ammunition depots, production workshops, control points for attack UAVs, and boat bases were destroyed. It was also possible to hit the places of temporary deployment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, nationalists and foreign mercenaries.

A breakthrough of the enemy's air defenses is guaranteed

Such gifts are inflicted by several types of combat systems, Dmitry Kornev, editor of the MilitaryRussia website, told Izvestia.

"First of all, these are air-launched cruise missiles of the X-101 type, which are launched from Tu—95MS carriers," he explained. — In addition, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles from MiG-31 carrier aircraft are used. And Kalibr cruise missiles are being launched from the Black Sea. Their carriers can be both submarines and surface ships. In addition, kamikaze drones of the Geranium type are traditionally used. They, among other things, create a certain background for the breakthrough of the enemy's air defenses. The air defense is distracted by drones, while cruise missiles enter the targets.

The expert noted that cruise missiles and Geraniums use complex trajectories to hit a target simultaneously.

— Thus, the load on the air defense increases even more and the breakthrough of the enemy's air defense is guaranteed, — Dmitry Kornev explained.

According to him, infrastructure facilities can be destroyed by cruise missiles and drones.

— These are stationary objects, — the expert specified. — But the Dagger aeroballistic missiles are most likely used for air defense systems. This is justified because air defense systems can be relocated. But at the moment of work, they "open up", the place of their deployment becomes known and it is reasonable to strike it promptly.

Recently, the Ukrainian air defense system has been working less actively and effectively, said Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the board of the all-Russian organization Officers of Russia, in an interview with Izvestia.

"It remains to be seen what this is about," he says. — It is unlikely that their work was affected by the two-day-old US ban on the transfer of weapons and intelligence information. At the same time, it is obvious that the Russian armed forces have begun to use more Gerber and Geraniums without a warhead as distracting targets. They allow our missiles and UAVs to break through. With this use of false targets, the cost of expensive missiles is reduced. If the US assistance is not resumed, in a month or two the Ukrainian air defense will noticeably weaken.

The main goals remain the same — energy and gas infrastructure, he stressed.

— Gas fields, storage facilities, and the gas transportation system have been under attack in recent months, and it had not been touched before, — said Roman Shkurlatov.

After Ukraine voluntarily refused to transit Russian gas, these facilities became one of the priority targets, the expert believes. Undermining the economic stability of the enemy is one of the most important tasks in conducting large—scale military operations, he added.