Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Ukrainian children in Poland and announced that a modern air defense system (AD) would be created in the country. According to RIA Novosti, he promised to do this
“More powerful than Israel’s Iron Dome tactical missile defense system.”
According to the politician, the Israeli system does not fit Ukraine – the territory of Israel is much smaller than the territory of Ukraine.
“It is important for us to establish a modern air defense system. I want to build it quickly,” Zelensky stressed. He did not specify when exactly Kiev plans to complete this project.
At the same time, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock said that the handover of the IRIS-T SLM air defense system to Ukraine “could take months”.
The official explained the delay by the fact that the manufacturing company will supply weapons “directly to Ukraine”. German media previously reported that it will be possible to start using German air defense in Ukraine before November 2022.
The German Ministry of Defense reported that the air defense missiles and surveillance radars promised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz are not in the warehouses of the Bundeswehr. Therefore, you will have to buy them from the manufacturer and also accept them.
According to military experts, now Ukraine most needs means of protection against sea and air-based cruise missiles, as well as tactical ballistic missiles. Therefore, recently, the Ukrainian authorities regularly announced their intention to purchase the Israeli tactical missile defense system “Iron Dome” (Iron Dome), developed by Rafael.
An Iron Dome battery effectively protects an area of 150 square meters from missiles. km. Rafael claims that the Iron Dome can hit missiles flying at an altitude of up to 10 km. In the future, the firing range of the system is expected to be increased to 250 km.
As Gazeta.ru military observer Mikhail Khodarenok previously wrote, this complex “has proven to be very positive indeed in situations where it is a matter of confronting the Palestinians with their semi-manufactured missiles from the Gaza Strip – but how effective will it be? against sophisticated modern high-precision missiles?”
In response, Sergey Demidenko, head of the department of the RANEPA Institute of Social Sciences, told socialbites.ca that Western countries expect Israel to supply Ukraine with the Iron Dome.
“The expectations of the West depend on the Iron Dome missile defense system. And the main direction of information work on Israel is to persuade them to provide this system to Ukraine. But they won’t do it because it’s not their conflict,” he said.
On February 15, the Israeli portal Ynet reported that Israel refused to sell the Iron Dome missile defense system to Ukraine.
“Since last summer, Israel has taken a series of steps to avoid conflicts with the Americans and Ukrainians over this case and has managed to get this issue off the agenda. Officials in Ukraine expressed their disappointment at Jerusalem’s stance.
According to the publication, the United States “understands the Israeli government’s decision to be careful not to escalate tensions with Russia.”
Source: Gazeta
