The NYT reported an acute shortage of air defense systems in Ukraine

Brief retelling from RIA II

Ukraine faces an acute shortage of air defense systems, especially Patriot interceptor missiles.

Ukraine's existing Patriot air defense batteries are currently idle, and there is little reason to believe that new interceptor missiles will arrive anytime soon.

The situation with air defense systems in Ukraine has become the worst since the conflict, and the next few months could be decisive.

MOSCOW, September 8 - RIA Novosti. Ukraine will not be able to quickly find a solution to the acute shortage of air defense systems, and therefore the next few months could be decisive in the conflict, says Rajan Menon, a New York Times columnist, emeritus professor at the City College of New York and a member of the Society of Leading Scholars at Columbia University.

“Ukraine is now faced with a problem that has no quick solution. Its (stockpiles - ed.) air defense systems, especially Patriot interceptor missiles, are depleted,” the material says.

According to Menon, Ukraine's existing Patriot air defense batteries are currently idle, and there is little reason to believe that new interceptor missiles will arrive anytime soon. He also predicts that the coming winter for Ukraine will almost certainly be worse than previous ones.

The author of the article notes that, given the current situation, the next few months of the conflict could be decisive.

Vladimir Zelensky recently admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot shoot down ballistic missiles due to a shortage of air defense missiles. And the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence, Yegor Chernev, in turn, stated that the situation with air defense systems in Ukraine has become the worst during the entire conflict. Verkhovna Rada deputy Anna Skorokhod said on August 12 that Ukraine found itself in a catastrophic situation due to a lack of air defense systems, so the Ukrainian Armed Forces stopped reporting the number of downed missiles.