How America’s Patriot SAMs Saved Ukraine from Winter Freeze

Ukraine is almost through another winter of Russian bombing, set to survive another Moscow drone and missile blitz intended to collapse the national energy grid and freeze Kyiv into submission.

The Kremlin’s second winter of bombardment began in September, launched against a Ukrainian state that had spent much of the preceding six months preparing.

Fuel storage facilities were full, air defense shelters had been surveyed, infrastructure mauled over the previous winter was repaired, and the country’s anti-air umbrella had been beefed up by new American weapons systems.

In an exclusive interview with Newsweek, Ukraine’s energy minister credited this preparation for the country’s winter resilience. “We are almost at the end of winter; it’s February in several days,” German Galushchenko said. “So, we are quite confident.”

“This year, we don’t have—at least at this stage—some dramatic impact of the shelling to the energy infrastructure,” Galushchenko explained. “They still continue shelling and, of course, the impact is now more to regions which are close to the battlefield, where they use these S-300 missiles, artillery, and air strikes.”

Ukraine’s Umbrella

For Kyiv and other strategic locations relatively far from the front, the American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems have been a godsend. Their missile interceptors have proved able to destroy incoming Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, which President Vladimir Putin once touted as “invincible.”

“The air defense system became much stronger,” Galushchenko said of Ukraine’s winter defenses. “The previous year, we did not have a lot of systems. For instance, we didn’t have Patriots.”

“They used this sophisticated weapon—the Kinzhal—and they attacked the energy infrastructure with this weapon. And we, at this stage, did not have a system that could shoot down the Kinzhals. Now, the Patriot systems show their efficiency on that, and that’s a very important point.”

Last winter, the minister added, meant “every day and night attacks on the energy infrastructure.” This year, the Russian attacks are less regular and less devastating.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Ukraine now has at least three Patriot batteries. The first two arrived from the U.S. and Germany in spring 2023. Berlin committed a third that was deployed in December 2023. The Wall Street Journal reported in late December that Ukraine has five batteries in operation.

Their exact number and location remain closely guarded military secrets. One Patriot system may be being used in a mobile capacity, deployed to various places relatively close to the front to ambush Russian aircraft.

But the Patriot’s main role remains the protection of critical infrastructure and major population centers. Yurii Ihnat, the Ukrainian Air Force’s spokesperson, told Newsweek this month that “only the Patriot” can down the Kinzhal missiles that Moscow prefers for high-value static targets.

Even recent tweaks to the advanced munitions—like flares intended to distract the interceptor missiles—”do not help them,” Ihnat said.

Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, told a United States Institute of Peace event in December that Ukraine’s success with Patriot batteries had exposed Putin’s “lies” about Moscow’s most advanced weaponry.

“Before Ukrainians started to use Patriots, no one could be sure that Patriots [would] destroy any kind of missiles” Yermak said. “Your Patriots destroyed everything.”

Supply Pressure

But for all their success, concerns remain as to the cost and availability of Patriot interceptor missiles, the unit cost of which can be as high as $4 million. The Kyiv Post has reported that Ukrainian gunners can fire off between eight and 10 missiles at once during Russian bombardments, rapidly eating into Kyiv’s arsenal.

The U.S. is casting around for new supply routes. In December, Japan agreed to send interceptor missiles to the U.S. to free up American stocks for use in Ukraine. Patriot producer Boeing is planning to expand its production capabilities by more than 30 percent to meet the new demand, with NATO also lining up a purchase of 1,000 new missiles.

Galushchenko said the continued supply of missiles is vital in Ukraine’s pursuit of security and victory. “The level of supply of these missiles and modern air defense systems, that is critical not only for the war, but that is critical for people, that is critical for the population of Ukraine,” he said.

“That is not only an issue for the battlefield, and how effective we could be at the front line, but that is also the issue how ordinary people could feel safe and normal conditions; so as not to allow them to make us suffer.”