Russia wants to reduce Ukrainian ammunition reserves for Patriot air defense systems - Western experts

A recent powerful rocket firing of the Russian Federation in Ukraine has caused mass destruction, but may have had a more specific purpose, the expert says. "Russia is probably trying to force Ukraine to spend precious ammunition for its Patriot air defense systems," said Jade McGlin. The expert was supported by the main correspondent-international The Wall Street Journal Yaroslav Trofimov.

The international relations specialist suggested that Russia seeks to destroy Ukrainian Patriot missile reserves in the hope that he will then be able to destroy the batteries themselves. And it will be much harder to replace them. He added that the same can be said about ammunition for another Ukrainian air defense system - NASAMS. "Another massive Russian rocket firing of Kiev that caused fires and interruptions with electrical/water supply. Times . . . " - Trofimov wrote.

Republicans in the Senate have blocked US President Joe Baiden's request for further funding for the Armed Forces, saying that they would only be approved if their demands on the US Southern border are initially satisfied. This forced the Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to warn last month that "we almost ended the money we need, and we have almost ended time. " McGlin says that congress events can explain why Russia was waiting until late December to start its large -scale shelling.

"It was unclear why Russia has been waiting for so long to start firing infrastructure if you remember last year. But it makes sense in the context of lack of decision in the US for defense assistance to Ukraine," she said. The analyst of the Royal Institute of International Relations Catham House Keyr Giles gave a more skeptical forecast.

According to him, Russia is probably conducting a rocket campaign on its own schedule and knows that "a limited amount of deliveries from abroad will be whether or not the US crane is blocked. " But, he said, the lack of guaranteed support from the United States makes the situation much more difficult for Ukraine, forcing it to make harsh decisions about when using its defense.

Meanwhile, NATO European countries will buy up to 1000 modern missiles for Patriot air defense system, according to the terms of the agreement. Weapons are planned to be put in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Romania and Spain, and the agreement is supported by the NATO Procurement Department. We will add that the Russian Federation will soon lose the advantage over Ukraine in the air.