President Putin Expresses ‘100 Percent’ Certainty That Russia Will Destroy ’Outdated’ American Patriot Systems in Ukraine

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Russian President Vladimir Putin stated on December 25 that the destruction of any Patriot missile systems delivered to Ukraine by the United States was an absolute certainty. “Of course, we’ll take them out, 100 Percent!” he said in interview with journalist Pavel Zarubin, adding that “the Patriot is a fairly outdated system” which the Russian Military would find a way to tackle. His statement follows a pledge to supply Patriots under a $1.85 billion military aid package, which was announced during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to Washington. The ability of the Patriot to meaningfully influence the war effort or support Ukraine’s air defence efforts remains limited, both due to its highly questionable combat record as well as the very small numbers which a $1.85 billion package will be able to cover. The missile system has struggled profusely to tackle makeshift missiles and 1960s Soviet Scud missiles, leaving its ability to neutralise 21st century Russian missiles such as the Iskander which are considerably more survivable in serious question.

Questions were initially raised regarding the wisdom of providing the Patriot to Ukraine due to the repetitional damage which swift Russian destruction of the system could cause, with Patriots heavily relied on across NATO and by U.S. clients outside the alliance such as Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and South Korea. A conspicuous failure in Ukraine, following prior serious failures in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, could jeopardise the possibility of further sales. The announcement of delivery comes as Ukraine sees its critical infrastructure quickly taking damage to Russian missile and drone strikes, which has raised the possibility that major cities may need to be abandoned entirely over the winter. The delivery of the Patriots in mid 2023 will follow multiple prior deliveries of lower end Western air defence assets such as American Hawk missiles and German Gepard anti aircraft guns and Iris-T SLM air defence platforms.

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