Author: Myroslav Liskovych, the material was published first on the Ukrinform website.
"Let's start from what Slovakia had, that is, what they could pass on. The Slovak Armed Forces has only one air defense unit, the 11th Nitra Airborne Missile Brigade. It was armed with five Kub-M2 air defense SAM batteries and one S-300PMU long-range SAM battery (a late Soviet export version of the S-300PS, NATO code SA-10C Grumble). This is exactly the battery we were given, ”says Pavlo Lakiychuk, Captain of the 1st Rank in Reserve, Head of Military Programs at the Center for Global Studies, Strategy XXI.
It was transferred, he emphasizes, because it is unreasonable to transfer one complex.
"Not even because it's not enough for us - because we know which complex to transfer to which division. And because the incomplete battery in the air defense of Slovakia will be unable to perform its tasks in full. That is, it was transferred in full - with a command post, radar stations, launchers, transport and charging machines, etc. And missiles. The S-300PS battery (and, accordingly, the S-300PMU) is designed for air protection of large cities, industrial facilities, military bases, etc. from aircraft, aerodynamic and ballistic missiles. So, we will have more than one protected city, ”the military expert assures.
Mr. Lakiychuk reminds that residents of Kyiv and Dnipro, as well as some other large Ukrainian cities, already know how the S-300 air defense system works: “Of course, one S-300 battery will not solve the problem of“ closing the Ukrainian sky ”. The average Ukrainian will not even notice that another "Caliber" or "Iskander" was shot down by a Ukrainian or Slovak missile. But this initiative is the first transfer of air defense equipment of this class to Ukraine. "
"And the closure of the sky is a systemic problem and is solved by a complex of actions of aviation, anti-aircraft missile units, military air defense," Pavlo Lakiychuk also emphasizes. - It is solved gradually and consistently. But, again, no air defense system provides a 100% guarantee. "