Latest news with #Khrapchynskyi
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Yahoo
Russia turning Kerch airport in Crimea into military base, may launch Shahed drones from there
The Kerch airport, located in the east of occupied Crimea, is being converted from a civilian to a military facility, according to data from the Russian property registry and satellite images from Planet Labs. Source: Skhemy, a Radio Liberty project Details: Registry documents indicate that on 4 March 2025, the Russian authorities granted indefinite use of part of the airport's land to Russia's Ministry of Defence. Satellite images taken in February and June 2025 show new construction, including protective and camouflage structures around the runway. Planet Labs satellite photos indicate that the redevelopment of the Kerch airport is ongoing. The Kerch airport as of 5 June 2025. Photo: Skhemy Experts suggest these facilities could be used to house equipment related to unmanned aerial vehicles or air defence systems. Aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi, to whom the images were shown by journalists, pointed to the size of the camouflage shelters, noting they could potentially serve as technical bases for UAVs or house air defence systems such as the Pantsir-S1 or Tor-M2. "These could be platforms for launching or assembling drones, as well as positions for air defence systems," Khrapchynskyi said. He also noted that the runway's characteristics make it suitable for drone launches. The Kerch airport as of 5 June 2025. Photo: Skhemy Previously, the airport area had been used as a parking zone for freight vehicles awaiting ferry transport. However, in March 2025, this facility was relocated, officially explained as a "reorganisation of the company's operations". The last regular passenger flight from the Kerch airport took place in 2007. Background: On the night of 8-9 June, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, in coordination with other defence forces units, carried out a strike on the Savasleyka airfield in Russia's Nizhny Novgorod Oblast. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Kyiv's air defense increasingly under pressure amid missile shortage
As the air defense missile stocks run low and the future of U.S. military aid to Ukraine grows increasingly uncertain, Kyiv is under pressure to defend its sky. The concerns mount as Russia scales up its aerial attacks across Ukraine, combining ballistic missiles and drones to overwhelm air defenses. Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv, are "definitely facing a shortage of (air defense) missiles," a source in the Air Force told the Kyiv Independent. Ukrainian aviation expert Anatolii Khrapchynskyi said that Russia has "radically changed" its tactics by targeting central Ukraine with ballistic missiles — instead of cruise missiles — such as Iskanders and upgraded North Korean variants. "That's an entirely different level of threat," Khrapchynskyi told the Kyiv Independent. While Kyiv remains the most protected city in Ukraine with the most prestigious Western air defense systems, the U.S.'s future steps and the worldwide shortage of air defense missiles due to their cost may impact its ability to protect civilians all over Ukraine, including the capital. Among the most capable Western-provided air defense missiles manning Kyiv's sky is the U.S.-made Patriot, which the U.S. confirmed had been used to shoot down the first Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile in May 2023. The Patriot air defense systems have proved to be a game-changer for Ukraine, whose Air Force previously have had to rely on outdated Soviet-era versions to shoot down aerial targets. Ukraine currently has only eight Patriot systems, two of which are currently not in service, according to the New York Times, which also reported that an additional Patriot system is on its way to Ukraine from Israel as part of a previously arranged commitment. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in April that Ukraine is ready to purchase additional air defense systems to protect its sky better. Patriot systems are seen at a military training area of Air Defence Missile Group 21 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, on May 29, 2024. (Bernd Wüstneck / Picture Alliance via Getty Images) The equipment — and most importantly, the ammunition — are limited in number to effectively use the mobile surface-to-air system for countering ballistic and cruise missiles, forcing Ukraine to conserve them even when Kyiv is under heavy attack, according to military experts interviewed. Ukraine would ideally need at least two Patriot systems for every major city, such as Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro. Ukraine has to move its six operational Patriot systems, provided by Western allies over time, across the country to defend the sky from Russian missiles and drones, according to Ukrainian aviation expert Kostiantyn Kryvolap. Ukraine would ideally need at least two Patriot systems for every major city, such as Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipro, to "more or less reliably" defend it using two radars to detect aerial threats, Kryvolap said. There are seven cities across the country with a population of over 500,000 people, excluding Russian-occupied territories. In a plea to Western allies to help defend civilians, Zelensky has repeatedly asked for more Patriots and ammunition for them. Details about the remaining missile stock remain unknown, as Kyiv has tightly guarded the information for operational security. The shortage of Patriot missiles persists worldwide, as production is complicated and expensive. Kryvolap said that the American manufacturer Lockheed Martin can only produce about 500 a year, which wouldn't be sufficient even if all the produced ammunition were allocated to Ukraine. The company was awarded a government contract to increase the production of PAC-3 interceptors to 650 missiles per year in 2027. Read also: 'Panic, screams, dead everywhere' — Sumy in shock after double-tap missile attack kills 35 Kryvolap stressed that at least two Patriot missiles are needed to intercept a ballistic missile with "a more or less high probability." Meanwhile, Russia constantly attempts to improve its ballistic missiles, posing additional challenges for Ukraine, according to the Air Force. "The enemy is still modernizing ballistic missiles," its spokesman, Yuriy Ihnat, said in April. Aviation expert Khrapchynskyi pointed out that the interceptor shortage had already become "critical" in 2024 when the delay in Western aid delivery coincided with Russia's deployment of a new combination tactic using Shahed-type drones, ballistic missiles, Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and Kh-101 and Kh-555 cruise missiles. Remains of a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile are displayed at an exhibition showing debris from missiles and drones used by Russia to attack Kyiv, Ukraine, on May 12, 2023. Fragments of various types of weapons are being studied at the Kyiv Scientific Research Institute of Forensic Expertise. (Oleksii Samsonov / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) "We're facing a shortage of interceptors, limited coverage, and no system can hold out for long without constant resupply," Khrapchynskyi told the Kyiv Independent, underscoring that Ukraine would need at least eight or nine Patriot batteries in total, including at least three just for Kyiv. "But even the best system is still just a platform. Without missiles, it's just blinking lights," he added. The sheer number of Russian attacks using ballistic missiles, which are "complex, fast, and often upgraded," have forced Ukraine into an increasingly tough situation, especially with the persisting risk that the U.S. could cut off its military aid to Kyiv again, according to the expert. Ukraine's air defense capability would likely be the first to suffer should the U.S. withdraw from its military aid again, which could happen "in a matter of weeks," according to John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the Washington-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Defending cities against Russian and North Korean ballistic missiles without the Patriot interceptors would be "really hard," especially now with a larger number getting through, Hardie said. The situation could get worse if Russia were to launch a prolonged and sustained missile campaign on Kyiv, launching 10 to 30 missiles a day for a few weeks with small intervals, especially from areas up north, such as Bryansk Oblast or Belarus, according to Polish military analyst Konrad Myzyka, director of the Poland-based Rochan military consultancy. Myzyka expects Kyiv's interception rate of ballistic missiles to decrease if Russia manages to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses. The decrease in interception rates is, in turn, an increase in civilian lives lost. Read also: Kyiv teenagers mourn their friend killed by Russian missile (PHOTOS) We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
