Russian air defenses can shoot down Western missiles, but Ukraine knows how to ‘trick’ them, Ihnat says
The Russians are capable of intercepting HIMARS and Storm Shadow missiles provided by the West, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces use "certain tricks" to evade the enemy's air defenses, Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told news outlet Novynarnya in an interview on Nov. 27.
Asked about the effectiveness of Russian air defense systems, he said that they had been developed and modernized over the years – in particular the Osa and Tor systems. The enemy also has Pantsir, S-300, S-350 and S-400.
But Russia’s air defenses have had to be "dispersed" to cope with their primary task of protecting the country’s strategic cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, said Ihnat.
"Yes, we’ve thin them out quite well,” he said. “But they also have a big country. All these complexes are supposed to protect the Far East, the northern territories, the infrastructure, Putin's palaces and bunkers...”
“But the bulk of their air defenses are definitely here now – the Donetsk sector, the southern sector and Crimea," Ihnat said, adding that the best Russian complexes capable of shooting down Western missiles, are now concentrated in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and they are high-value targets for Ukraine’s HARM, Storm Shadow, and ATACMS missiles.
"Yes, the Russians can destroy and intercept HIMARS,” Ihnat said.
“They have systems that can work against ballistic missiles according to their tactical and technical characteristics. That is clear. They can also shoot down Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles, which are subsonic. But we don't just launch these missiles to be shot down... There are certain tricks and tactics used by our command and pilots."
Russia has lost 597 air defense systems in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion, according to the tally kept by the Ukrainian General Staff.
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