Patriots "open the list". Ukrainian press about the "most effective Western weapon" in the coming year

In its Monday publication, the website of the Ukrainian weekly "Novoye Vremya" assessed which weapons provided by Kyiv's Western allies proved to be the most effective and useful for the Ukrainian Armed Forces this year. Patriot systems top the list.

Since the arrival of the first two Patriot systems in Kyiv this spring - from Germany and the United States - these anti-missile defense systems have become one of the most reliable means of protecting the Ukrainian sky, as reported by the portal of the weekly "Novoye Vremya."

"May 4, 2023, will forever be remembered in military history when the first Kindzhal was shot down over Kyiv. Since then, thanks to Patriots, at least 15 such missiles have been destroyed in Ukraine. Anti-missile defense systems help protect the Ukrainian capital and the areas where they were deployed against Russian Iskander ballistic missiles and dangerous strikes from S-400 systems, whose missiles also follow a ballistic trajectory"
wrote the nv.ua portal.

"These are dozens of shot-down ballistic missiles that were flying towards Kyiv. Patriot showed what it can do", said Air Force spokesman Yuri Ihnat to reporters. "This is an extremely serious technology. After all, only a head-on collision guarantees the downing of a ballistic missile, and all this takes place without human intervention" he added.

On May 13, a Su-34 bomber, a Su-35 fighter, and two rare Mi-8MTPR-1 electronic warfare helicopters were shot down in the Bryansk Oblast in Russia. "This operation, carried out thanks to the skillful use of Patriot systems, received the informal name 'Bryansk Slaughterhouse' due to the shooting down of all targets in this region of Russia", wrote the Ukrainian military portal Defense Express earlier.

Yuri Ihnat said that the Russian machines were destroyed within "a few minutes".

On Friday, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Mykola Oleschuk, announced that three Russian Su-34 tactical bombers were shot down in quick succession. On Monday, the General Staff in Kyiv confirmed reports of the downing of another Su-34 bomber and a Su-30 fighter.

Storm Shadow and SCALP Long-range Cruise Missiles

The next position on the list of the most effective and useful Western weapons for Ukrainian forces is taken by the British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, as well as the British-French SCALP missiles.

It was in 2023 that Ukraine managed to overcome the resistance of Western countries in delivering long-range missiles. An example was Great Britain, which in May was the first to confirm the delivery of Storm Shadow air-to-surface cruise missiles to Kyiv. They are capable of hitting targets at a distance of up to 290 km (in the version received by Ukraine), have a powerful warhead weighing up to 450 kg and can reach a maximum speed of up to one thousand kilometers per hour. The missiles are intended to destroy stationary targets, well protected by air defense means. The only limitation for Ukraine is the ban on their use for attacks on targets in the Russian Federation," wrote nv.ua.

Since Ukraine does not have Western fighters, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were the first in the world to adapt modern Western cruise missiles to post-Soviet aircraft, according to na.ua.

In September, Ukrainian Forces reported the destruction of the Russian ships Minsk and Rostov-on-Don in Sevastopol in the annexed Crimea. "The British and French media are interested in what type of cruise missiles were used by Ukrainian pilots when they sent the ships Minsk and Rostov-on-Don after the cruiser Moskva," Mykola Oleschuk reported on the Telegram channel at the time.

"I'm reporting! The Air Force has two types of cruise missiles provided by partners to fight the occupier. We have the British Storm Shadow under the left wing of the Su-24, and the French Scalp under the right wing. Both missiles work perfectly, the occupiers have no chance!"
Mykola Oleschuk wrote.

Nv.ua assessed that September's exceptionally successful operation became one of many examples of Ukraine successfully hitting Russian targets using Storm Shadow and SCALP, especially in Crimea and the distant rear of occupied eastern and southern Ukraine.

ATACMS Missiles

After a year and a half of doubts and hesitations caused by fear of a mythical “escalation” from Russia, the US decided to transfer long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in October 2023, wrote the weekly portal "Novoye Vremya," placing this weapon in the third position on its list.

In just a few days, ATACMS struck Russian military airfields near occupied Berdyansk (Zaporizhia Oblast) and Luhansk. At least nine helicopters and many other objects were destroyed, including an air defense system launcher and specialized aviation equipment. This is the largest single loss of helicopters and one of the largest losses of Russian aviation during the entire period of the armed invasion of Ukraine, nv.ua said.

American Bradley vehicles

Ukraine received American Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles for the first time in the spring of 2023. They were to become part of the Western fleet of armored vehicles transferred to the armed forces, primarily for the needs of the summer counteroffensive in the south.

Russian propaganda reported for weeks about the destruction of Bradley vehicles on the front, the Ukrainian defenders, at the cost of enormous risk, proved to the world the ability of these BMPs to effectively protect the lives of the crew.

"I was amazed by the strength of this equipment. I didn't expect it to withstand a direct hit by an anti-aircraft missile, but it saved us all" - said a soldier of the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade in June.

Also in June, then-Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malar published a photo of Bradley after being hit by a Russian Grad launcher. Malar wrote that "the Ukrainian crew evacuated safely, and the mechanic driver extinguished the fire.

"This example proves that the extraordinary combat durability declared by the manufacturer of the infantry fighting vehicle is not just words. Bradley helps preserve what is most valuable - the lives of soldiers"
Malar commented on the event.