These S-300s may have come from some countries of the former Soviet Union, and they still exist, especially in Slovakia and Bulgaria, as US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin was in recent days.

But these countries still rely on the S-300 for their own security and ask for a replacement – in other words, patriots – before giving it to Ukraine. “We are ready to do this as soon as we find a suitable replacement,” Slovak Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad told reporters on Thursday.

As part of that, the Netherlands announced on Friday that it would deploy a Patriot battery at the Sliak military base in central Slovakia, and Germany confirmed that it would send two more to the country, which would facilitate the transfer of the single Slovak S. 300 battery to Ukraine.

But the German and Dutch patriots did not arrive in Slovakia immediately – the Netherlands counts April 15 – and the time has passed for the Ukrainian army.

American patriot, for the salvation of Ukraine

The most appropriate way to help Ukraine would be mobile anti-aircraft batteries like the Patriot, the effectiveness of which has been well demonstrated in Iraq and the Gulf in recent years. The Patriot is a radar built into trucks and capable of automatically detecting and intercepting an aircraft. A drone or missile with a range of more than 100 kmAn observation post controlled by three soldiers and a battery of interceptor missiles.

But Ukrainian soldiers are not trained to handle these sophisticated American weapons. On the other hand, they know how to use the S-300 anti-aircraft system, the first-generation Russian rival of the American Patriot, whose range is more limited, but it is enough to protect Kharkiv or Kyiv near two cities. Russia’s border.

In addition, although many countries seem willing to supply kyiv with spare missiles for the S-300, Ukraine needs a number of fully equipped systems – including radars and surveillance posts. “An S-300 is not good for anything, but it’s not enough,” says Brent Eastwood.

Logistic difficulties in getting the patriot to the destination

The other two NATO countries, Bulgaria and Greece, have S-300s, but replacements will have to be offered. However, the U.S. military, with its relatively limited patriotic inventory, decides to lend to these countries on their own, but it will take a few weeks for them to reach their destination. Washington is trying to persuade allies in other regions to lend, but again, it’s not easy.

U.S. Chief of Staff General Mark Millie may have asked for Japan’s help on Thursday. He called on his Japanese counterpart to discuss “the current situation in the Pacific and the Russian occupation of Ukraine.”

The Gulf states have a number of anti-aircraft batteries to protect themselves from Iranian missiles, but they are in no hurry to help Ukraine. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the world’s largest crude oil exporters and have strong ties to the Middle East and Moscow, have so far refrained from taking a stand against Russia.