Russia tries to exhaust air defense of Ukraine - Kirby
Russia is trying to deplete Ukraine’s air defense with missile attacks. As a result, Ukrainians are forced to make "difficult decisions" regarding the use of missiles.
As Censor.NET informs with the reference to "Voice of America", John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the U.S. National Security Council, said during a briefing at the White House.
He commented on the January 23rd missile attack by Russia and emphasized the importance of US assistance to Ukraine.
"This is what the Russians have been trying to do since the beginning of the winter months. This is an attempt to continue to inflict suffering on Ukrainians, trying to break their will, their backbone, attacking civilian infrastructure, homes and terrain. And Putin has done this before," Kirby said.
He added that the attacks by Russian forces against civilian infrastructure are an attempt to deplete Ukraine's air defense systems.
"The Ukrainians have to make tough decisions about which air defense missiles to use and which to save for another day. And the Russians know that," Kirby said.
As a reminder, on the morning of January 23, Russia launched a massive missile attack on the territory of Ukraine. The aggressor country used 44 air attack weapons. In particular, four S-300/S-400 anti-aircraft guided missiles, 15 X-101/X-555/X-55 cruise missiles, eight X-22 missiles, 12 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and five X-59/X-31 guided missiles. Air defense forces shot down 15 X-101/X-555/X-55 missiles, five Iskanders and two X-59s.
