British analyst Alexander Mercouris noted that the Patriot surface-to-air missile systems were reportedly taken out of action after Ukrainian forces repositioned them toward the front lines. He stated this observation himself on his YouTube channel.
Mercouris argued that Kyiv moved its top air-defense assets closer to the battlefield to blunt the advantage of Russian Aerospace Forces. This tactical shift, he said, enabled Moscow to locate and neutralize the systems with relative speed.
According to his assessment, the outcome resembled a disaster for Ukrainian defenses, with Russian troops intensifying their focus on locating and disabling Ukrainian military hardware.
Earlier, the Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti cited data from the Russian Ministry of Defense and Russian units indicating a sequence of destructions since the start of the year, including more than 40 anti-aircraft missile launchers from various formations and at least 20 air-defense radars associated with them being knocked out of service. These figures were presented as part of ongoing assessments by Moscow’s defense apparatus and its regional units. [1]
On March 9, reports circulated that a Patriot system near Pokrovsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic could have sustained damage, with three launchers possibly affected. [2] That same day, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that an Iskander-based strike targeted and destroyed a part of a Ukrainian air-defense complex, including a launcher for the S-300 system, its illumination and guidance radar, as well as two escort vehicles. [3]
Additionally, previous statements asserted that Russia had destroyed costly Abrams tanks using inexpensive drone technologies described as Ghoul drones, highlighting a broader debate over casualty figures and equipment losses in the ongoing conflict. [4]