ISW says it can’t confirm Russia’s alleged destruction of Ukrainian Patriot system

Russia claimed to have destroyed a US-supplied Patriot air defense system in eastern Ukraine, but ISW has not confirmed this yet.

Mar 10, 2024 - 23:58
ISW says it can’t confirm Russia’s alleged destruction of Ukrainian Patriot system

Russian sources circulated a video allegedly showing the destruction of a US-supplied Patriot air defense system in Ukraine. However, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that it “has not yet observed evidence” to confirm this claim.

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video on 9 March, claiming to show Russian forces targeting a Ukrainian S-300 air defense missile launcher with Iskander missiles near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast.

Russian sources shared more footage of the aftermath of the strike, allegedly showing destroyed German MAN KAT1 trucks, which can serve as a base for Patriot air defense missile launchers.

Russian sources have claimed that their forces destroyed a MIM-104 Patriot air defense system, using the footage as evidence. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense has not updated its initial claim of destroying a Ukrainian S-300 system.

According to RIA Novosti, a Russian state media outlet, a source in Russian law enforcement claimed that a strike by Russian Iskander missiles destroyed two Patriot air defense systems.

Several social media accounts specializing in open-source intelligence (OSINT) believe that the strike likely destroyed a Ukrainian Patriot air defense system. However, one OSINT account noted that Ukrainian forces also use MAN KAT1 trucks for logistics purposes.

“ISW has not yet observed evidence confirming that Russian forces destroyed a Patriot air defense system,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

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