Patriot air defense systems have downed “at least one” Russian warplane, says military expert
Ukrainian air defense forces have shot down at least one Russian military aircraft using Patriot air defense systems, military expert and Israeli Defense Forces officer Yigal Levin said, commenting on a claim made by CNN on Radio NV on May 19.
"For some reason, many people think that Patriot is one single machine," Levin explained.
“It is not. Firstly, it is a complex, that is, there are several launchers. They can be spread over 150 kilometers. Two Patriots [can be] 300 kilometers away. Our southern front is 400 kilometers. You can cover almost the entire southern front with just two.”
He also noted that no one reports where the Patriot systems are deployed:
"You think they are in Kyiv,” he said.
“Someone thinks they are in Kharkiv. Let them think they are on the southern front. Very well. Let the enemy think that they are everywhere, that they are covering Lviv, Kherson, and Kyiv.”
Levin also drew attention to the wording with which CNN reported the news:
"'At least one plane' is a military phrase,” he said.
“In our army, we liked to write that way in documents: ‘You know, at least one. Well, maybe five, maybe ten’. They just rounded it down. But at least one. But how many there were actually - two, three, four, five - these are supposedly technical details for specialists.”
According to the General Staff, Russia has lost 308 warplanes and 294 helicopters since Feb. 24, 2022.
On May 13, two military helicopters and two more Russian fighters crashed almost simultaneously in Bryansk Oblast, killing nine crew members.
Ukraine did not claim responsibility for the incident. The Ukrainian Air Force stated that Russian air defense was involved in the downing of Russian planes and helicopters in Bryansk Oblast.
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