An expert explains why Ukraine can no longer shoot down Russian missiles as it did before
Russia is adapting its missiles based on the experience of their interception, which complicates the work of Ukraine's air defense.
Russia is upgrading its missiles, enabling them to bypass Ukraine’s air defense
Russia has upgraded its missiles, making it increasingly difficult for Ukraine to shoot them down.
This was stated by Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko in a comment to Focus.
According to him, the Russian military-industrial complex has reached a point where the missiles fly at low altitudes, bypassing the Ukrainian air defense zones.
“Russia is indeed modernizing its missiles. As a result, they more often pass through the strike zone — and the zone itself has actually shrunk. Moreover, we have very few Patriot batteries and limited means to effectively intercept such missiles. That’s why these problems arise,” Romanenko explained.
He added that earlier ballistic missiles followed an arc trajectory — they would ascend and then sharply fall onto the target. This allowed them to be detected and destroyed in the air.
“But now there are significantly fewer such opportunities. We need to find new tactical solutions and determine which specific weapon can counter them,” the general noted.
Military-political analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko emphasized that the existing Patriot air defense systems in Ukraine had not been upgraded since their creation in the 1980s.
“We received a version of Patriot that has not been modernized. Meanwhile, the enemy, observing how its missiles are being shot down, is constantly trying to improve them. I do not rule out that the latest "Iskanders" had an improved navigation system, target approach, and other technological changes,” the expert said.