President Zelensky: With no more anti-aircraft missiles, Ukraine must choose which cities to protect.
(Baonghean.vn) - RIA Novosti reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces may soon run out of anti-aircraft missiles due to the high intensity of shelling. Therefore, cities must be chosen for protection.
"There are times when only the Patriot air defense system or similar systems can operate. And here we have to choose which one to protect: this city or that city," President Zelensky said.
According to President Zelensky, the current intensity of the Russian Armed Forces' offensives is quite high.
The Ukrainian leader pointed out: "Currently we have air defense supplies, but we have to think about what will happen tomorrow. Tomorrow the intensity could continue and we won't have enough."
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russia is believed to have launched more than 400 missiles of various types, 600 Shahed drones, and 3,000 guided bombs into Ukraine in March, causing serious damage to civilian and energy infrastructure.
Ukrainian President's Chief of Staff Andrei Yermak told Politico on April 5 that "Kyiv is approaching a critical juncture," referring to the stalled aid package in the US Congress. Ukraine still desperately needs additional air defense systems. The Ukrainian official reiterated that the latest Russian attacks were carried out using air-guided bombs, and that Patriot surface-to-air missiles could counter them by intercepting Russian aircraft.
Earlier, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, during a meeting with leaders of the armed forces on April 2, stated that the losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces since the beginning of 2024 had exceeded 80,000 people.
Shoigu stated that, following the failure of the 2023 summer counteroffensive, Ukraine had been unsuccessful in its attempts to gain a foothold on certain fronts. The Russian army continued to push Ukrainian forces westward. By March 2024 alone, the Russian Armed Forces had liberated Nevelskoye, Orlovka, Tonenkoye, Krasnoye, as well as the village of Mirnoye in the Zaporozhye region.
