Why Ukraine’s Patriots are finding it harder to shoot down Russian «Iskanders» — Ihnat explains

Russian forces continue to test upgraded types of weapons in Ukraine, including ballistic and cruise missiles.

This was said by Yurii Ihnat, head of the public relations service of the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on the air of the telethon.

According to him, the modernisation of Russian missiles is a process that has been under way for more than a year and is making it significantly harder for Ukrainian air-defence systems to operate.

«Indeed, shooting down missiles that fly on quasi-ballistic trajectories has become more difficult. They perform oscillations as they approach the target, and this affects the accuracy of interception by Patriot systems. These air-defence systems operate in automatic mode, so it is harder to determine the point of collision or detonation near the target, ” Ihnat explains.

The Air Force representative also says that Russia is attempting to overload Ukrainian air defenses by launching missiles from different directions.

«When missiles are approaching simultaneously from different sides, one system cannot detect all the targets. Effective defence requires several complexes so radars can cover the sky from different directions, ” he stressed.

Western media have previously reported that Russia upgraded the Iskander and Kinzhal missiles to make them harder to intercept. According to foreign sources, these changes reduce the effectiveness of air-defence systems and increase the risks to Ukraine’s critical infrastructure.