There’s been little progress in Russia-Ukraine talks, which the Trump administration has backed – the latest held in Istanbul a week ago – and by all appearances the war continues to heat up and possibly expand.
Russia’s defense ministry (MoD) has published battlefield footage which purports to show a Russian Iskander-M operational-tactical missile system destroying a US-supplied Patriot air defense system operated by the Ukrainian military.
A Thursday Telegram post by the MoD showed the strike on a position in Dnepropetrovsk region, which it says destroyed a multifunctional AN/MPQ-65 radar, a control unit, as well as two Patriot launchers.
Russian state media has touted that this amounts to a loss of advanced military hardware worth over $1 billion. President Zelensky has already for months been complaining US-supplied air defense systems
European allies, including Germany, the Netherlands, Romania, and Spain – have long worked to donate and transfer the anti-air system with Washington’s approval.
Greece has continued to refuse to send Ukraine any of its Patriot batteries, citing the need to defend its homeland, also given Turkey is an ever-present threat amid a spat over maritime rights and sovereignty. Likely Greece also realizes any Patriot it donates could just as quickly be destroyed by Russia’s superior aerial power.
Hellbound and Down 