The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the Patriot air defense system that the United States is preparing to send to Kyiv would be a “legitimate target” for its strikes on Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Patriot anti-aircraft complexes in SlovakiaPhoto: Bernd Von Jutrczenka / AFP / Profimedia Images

These comments were made by Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov at a daily press conference after Reuters reported a day ago, citing three sources familiar with the matter, that Washington was finalizing plans to send this air defense system to Ukraine and that the official representative of the decision could be accepted already this week.

Peskov said Wednesday that the Patriot systems would “definitely” be a target for Russia, but he would not comment on media reports that have not been officially confirmed.

Patriot is considered one of the most advanced US air defense systems, effective against aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles.

Systems typically include launchers and radars, as well as other support vehicles.

The Pentagon says that recent Russian missile strikes on Ukraine are at least partly aimed at wearing out the country’s air defenses so that Russian forces can dominate the skies above it.

New tactics of Russian troops

The Deputy Head of the Military Intelligence Service of Ukraine, General Vadym Sibitsky, recently spoke about this, and in an interview with The New York Times, he said:

“[Forțele rusești] first they launch Kh-55 missiles, we react to them. This is a false goal.”

He explained that after the activation of Ukraine’s air defense, to destroy these targets, Russian bombers launch more modern missiles with a high-explosive fragment.

Waves of attacks by Russian troops against civilian objects in Ukraine over the past two months prompted Kyiv’s Western partners, led by Volodymyr Zelensky, to supply the country with more air defense systems.

For the US, this has so far meant the NASAMS system, which the Pentagon says has unerringly intercepted Russian missiles entering its defense zone.

The United States has provided Ukraine with $19.3 billion in military aid since the Russian invasion began on February 24.

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