![]() Though Ukraine has reportedly asked the Bulgarian government for supplies of a wide range of weapons including the S-300, Sofia has so far refused to provide the systems, citing the need to protect its own sky. The complex is also in service in Bulgaria. ![]() Slovakia has already transferred one S-300, as well as missiles and spare parts for it. In the case of the S-300 systems, Ukraine may count on help from some NATO countries that have components and ammunition for them in their arsenal. Nor is it possible to manufacture missiles.” “To produce unique spare parts is impossible under our conditions. “We have companies that can make repairs to extend the life of the equipment, but the production of this equipment, and not only the equipment but also critical spare parts for it, is exclusively Russian,” says Ihnat. The producer of S-300 and Buk, as well as their modifications, is Russian state-owned company Almaz-Antey. The Ukrainian military has been using these systems since 2014, when Russia first invaded Ukraine, so many of them need new components and complex repairs. On top of the missile shortage, the maintenance of these systems is also a problem. Ihnat admitted that the air defense missile shortage issue was acute now, after a season of Russian mass attacks. They are the ones that do the job that we see in the reports of the General Staff,” Ihnat told the Kyiv Independent. “The most effective thing today to shoot down all the aerial targets the Russians are launching at us is the anti-aircraft missile systems, namely the Buk and S-300. ![]() Ukraine’s Air Force had a “large” stock of missiles for S-300 and Buk air defense systems before Russia’s full-scale invasion, said Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat, without going into specifics. However, NATO members’ capabilities when it comes to supplying missiles for Soviet systems are limited and finite, as the interceptors are only produced inside Russia.Īs Kyiv and its partners are dealing with the issue, Russia is reportedly already taking advantage of Ukraine’s shortage by sending more aircraft to attack its front-line positions. Strengthening Ukraine’s air defense, specifically ground-based systems, was the main task of the recent meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group held on April 21 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. Nonetheless, the Soviet-designed S-300 and Buk systems still account for most of its air protection. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in February 2022 Ukraine has received some Western air defense systems, such as IRIS-T, NASAMS, Crotale, Gepard, and most recently, the advanced U.S. Having shot down hundreds of Russian rockets and kamikaze drones since October, Ukraine’s Air Force is now facing a shortage of missiles for its air defense systems.Ĭiting the February assessment in the leaked Pentagon papers, the New York Times reported that the stockpiles of missiles for Ukraine’s main air defense systems, the S-300 and Buk, were expected to be “completely depleted” by early May. Over last winter, Ukraine successfully withstood Russia’s months-long campaign targeting energy infrastructure with barrages of missiles and drones.
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