Patriot can shoot down S-300 missiles, but it’s more rational to destroy these systems on ground – Ihnat

"There are a lot of them: there were 6,000-7,000 S-300 missiles a few months ago. Here it is more rational to destroy them on the ground. Moreover, they fly at a speed of 3,500 km per hour. They need a few minutes to arrive. But Patriot systems can shoot down such missiles because S-300 missiles are launched on a ballistic trajectory. They can, but we need to understand how many missiles we will have for Patriot and how many [missiles] they [Russians] will have for S-300 [systems]. It is clear that they will do the same they do with Shahed [drones]: launch them, exhausting our air defense systems," Yuriy Ihnat, Spokesperson for the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said during the national news telethon.

He noted that the Russians use Iranian-made Shahed drones, trying to detect Ukrainian air defense systems to hit them and wear them out in general. "Look, how many missiles and other means we spend on them. That is why it is called a war of attrition because the enemy is trying to exhaust us, and we are trying to exhaust them. We also exhaust them. Look, how many enemy equipment units have been destroyed, its cruise missiles," the spokesman added.

Patriot air defense system handed over by the Western partners is already on combat duty in Ukraine and protects our skies from enemy missiles, including ballistic ones, and aviation, while others are on their way.

As reported, Ihnat previously emphasized that Patriot surface-to-air missile systems received from international partners will significantly strengthen Ukraine's air defense and allow to keep Russian planes away from the border.