Patriot Air Defense: The Deadly Gap the West Leaves Open in Ukraine

The strike came quickly and could not be stopped. On Tuesday, a Russian missile hit a railway depot in Kyiv, killing seven people, six of them railway workers, Ukraine’s railway chief Oleksandr Perzowskyj told reporters.

Ukraine currently has little protection against attacks of this kind. Russia launches air attacks against the country almost every night, and Kyiv is now a particular focus. Air defenses shoot down a substantial share of the drones and cruise missiles, but most ballistic missiles get through.

The reason is the speed of those weapons and the limited number of Western systems equipped to intercept them. Only a few of the air-defense systems supplied by Western countries can effectively counter ballistic missiles, using specialized interceptors.

Those missiles, especially Patriot PAC-3 interceptors, have become so scarce that Ukraine can use them only to shield a handful of especially important locations and facilities. The shortage leaves a dangerous gap in the country’s defenses as attacks continue.

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Seven people were killed, six of them railway workers.