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Zelensky: Ukraine is working on boosting air defense throughout periphery regions

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Zelensky: Ukraine is working on boosting air defense throughout periphery regions
(Youtube President Zelensky)

Ukraine is building its air defenses in periphery regions such as Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Nov. 16.

"Not everything can be told publicly now. But what is absolutely certain is that Ukraine is constantly getting stronger. Our air defense capabilities are increasing. Of course, this is not yet a hundred percent protection.”

Advanced western air defense systems such as Patriot batteries have overwhelmingly been placed in the capital city of Kyiv.

Regions such as Kharkiv and Donetsk have far weaker air defenses and are geographically closer to Russian territory than Kyiv, making them hard to defend.

Russia’s growing partnership with Iran in the field of military drone technology is expected to boost Moscow’s arsenal before winter begins.

Kyiv’s supporters are scrambling to bolster the country’s defenses and are forging a unique air defense umbrella combining Soviet-era equipment and cutting-edge modern Western systems.

Patriot air defense faces its toughest challenge ever in Ukraine
The wait is over — after almost a year of refusals and hesitation, Western-provided MIM-104 Patriot air defense systems have finally arrived and become operational in Ukraine. On April 21 and 26, Ukraine’s Air Force confirmed the full employment of two Patriot batteries. As Ukraine’s own Soviet-er…
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Lance Luo

Lance Luo (Li P. Luo) is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. Previously, he worked at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Hromadske Television in Kyiv. He also spent three years in finance and strategy consulting. Mr. Luo graduated from the University of Southern California and serves as an arbitrator at FINRA.

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