Kiev is negotiating with foreign partners to gain access to anti-missile defense (ABM) technologies.
This was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba on the air of the Freedom of Speech program on the ICTV channel.
“We do not need an American missile defense system, we need a Ukrainian one, and this technology may not necessarily come from the United States.
There are other countries that own it, and we are negotiating access to it.
Indeed, air defense and missile defense are now the key "holes" that need to be filled, and we are working on them very substantively, "said the head of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
Kuleba also said that during a recent meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and American leader Joe Biden, the parties discussed what Washington could additionally do to help Kiev in its confrontation with Moscow.
Dmitry Kuleba
Reuters
As the minister noted, at the talks "President Biden's assurance that the United States will take part in the efforts of Ukraine and its allies to end Russian aggression was absolutely clear."
According to him, the announcement by the United States of providing financial assistance to Ukraine for military needs is a "signal" for Russia.
We will remind, on the eve of Zelensky's visit to Washington, the White House announced the allocation of a new package of military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $ 60 million. It will include additional supplies of Javelin anti-tank systems, as well as defensive weapons of striking and non-lethal action.
Patriot for Ukraine
It is worth noting that earlier the leadership of Ukraine has repeatedly declared its desire to deploy American air defense systems on its territory.
So, in 2018, the then Minister of Defense of Ukraine Stepan Poltorak urged the government to find funds to purchase the Patriot air defense system.
According to him, the appearance of this system in the Armed Forces of Ukraine would make it possible to “close the border” with the Russian Federation.
Poltorak said that the Ukrainian army needs five Patriot divisions.
He offered to extract funds for the purchase of an expensive system from the fight against smuggling.
In April 2021, the head of the office of the President of Ukraine, Andriy Yermak, in an interview with Time magazine, said that the United States should deploy Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in the country.
Vladimir Zelensky and Joe Biden
Reuters
“Ukraine holds the defense against Russia not only for its own sake, but also for the sake of the West.
And where is the United States deploying its Patriot missiles?
The nearest ones are in Poland.
But they should be here, ”Yermak said then.
One of the most recent statements of this kind was made by Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov, who announced on August 10 that American air defense systems could appear on Ukrainian territory.
At the same time, he added that the deployment of air defense forces can be achieved "even by deploying American units."
“Our legislation allows it,” the Deputy Prime Minister explained.
The leadership of the United States itself does not react to these statements.
According to analysts, Washington does not want to provide Ukraine with Patriot complexes, since it does not consider Kiev a reliable partner.
“There is no trust in Ukraine as a reliable, long-term partner due to serious corruption in this country and the uncertainty of its future prospects.
In addition, from a military point of view, Ukraine is not yet a formal NATO ally.
So no one will simply provide such systems to them, let alone give them.
Kiev will not be able to pay for them, "Sergei Ermakov, a leading expert at the RISS Research Coordination Center, said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, media reports periodically appear about the development of Ukraine's own air defense systems.
So, in May of this year, the Yuzhnoye design bureau showed a computer model of the Kilchen anti-aircraft missile system, which, according to the developers, will supposedly surpass the Russian S-400 air defense systems and the American Patriot.
According to media reports, such a system can include up to six anti-aircraft missile systems capable of striking any means of air attack at a distance of up to 280 km, while simultaneously firing at 12 targets.
The developers have calculated that the Kilchen will be cheaper than the American Patriot, which will make it possible to promote this weapon on the world market.
In addition, in January 2021, it was also reported that the Ukrainian design bureau "Luch" was developing an air defense system for a foreign customer.
It is worth noting that a year earlier, the general director of this enterprise, Oleg Korostelyov, called on the Ukrainian leadership to focus on modernizing the Soviet systems at the disposal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, such as the S-300 air defense system, and not to buy foreign products.
“We are not ashamed to modify, modernize those types of weapons that we inherited from the Soviet Union ... Soviet engineers had quite large capabilities and resources in terms of time, funding and training grounds, so many technical solutions are classic.
Why refuse them, they are, and they must be used ... There is nothing wrong with that.
Moreover, it suggests that we are optimally approaching the issues of funding, resources and technological capabilities, ”he told Defense Express in 2020.
"Such technologies are not distributed"
According to experts, at the moment there is no evidence that any of the projects announced in Ukraine to create their own air defense systems has reached the stage of production of prototypes.
Experts say that the difficulties in this area can be evidenced by the desire of Kiev to obtain appropriate technologies from foreign countries.
American air defense systems Patriot
Reuters
“Of course, they have some systems and capabilities.
But Ukraine cannot create an echeloned missile defense and air defense system without external help.
This is a long-term and very expensive project.
They will not have enough funds or scientific potential for this, ”said Sergei Ermakov.
At the same time, the analyst doubted that it would be easy for Kiev to obtain the necessary technologies from foreign partners.
“No one will give such gifts to Kiev just like that.
It is obvious.
Neither the Americans, nor the Europeans, who have similar technologies.
Those developments that the Ukrainian military-industrial complex itself has, could be used.
But this is not enough - we need cooperation with external investors and borrowing advanced technologies, ”says Sergei Ermakov.
The Ukrainian political scientist Alexander Semchenko adheres to a similar position.
“Nobody will give Kiev such technologies, because such data is not disseminated.
Kiev, in theory, should have its own technologies of Soviet development.
If Ukraine was really interested in the development of these systems, then, based on its own scientific and industrial potential, it would be able to do it.
And so this is just talk and a desire to beg for money - we, they say, will do it ourselves, just give more money to finance these developments, "the expert said in an interview with RT.
He also added that Kuleba's statements on missile defense should not be taken too seriously, as well as his words about a certain "signal" for the Russian Federation from the United States in connection with the allocation of another tranche of $ 60 million to Ukraine.
“I would not take any words of Kuleba seriously, like other Ukrainian officials, because they have seven Fridays a week. And these statements of theirs are not due to reality. All this is said for domestic consumption, for the population of Ukraine. For example, Kuleba's words about the US "signal" to the Russian Federation are just an attempt to show Ukrainians that Zelensky's visit to the United States turned out to be a great victory for Ukrainian diplomacy and Zelensky personally. But it is unlikely that everyone in Ukraine will agree with this opinion, ”the analyst concluded.