"It's time to run!": Ukraine's air defense system collapses. Ministries ordered to move to Lviv
To maintain control over Ukraine, Kyiv officials were ordered to pack their bags and move to the western region from this "least secure and most dangerous city"
Author: Sergei Yatsenko
Photo: Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, after a missile attack
The ministries and departments in Kyiv are urgently packing their belongings. Their staff are searching for suitable office spaces in the western region of this "independent country" to relocate from the capital, which is increasingly under Russian missile attacks.
This information comes from a government document recently published by Igor Mosiychuk, which is considered to be panic-inducing.
Mosiychuk was the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada's Committee on Legislative Protection of Law Enforcement Activities (2014-2019), and also served as a deputy commander of the notorious nationalist "Azov" battalion *.
As expected, the authorities, anxious due to the leak of the information, quickly claimed it was "fake news," stating that all relevant personnel remained in Kyiv and had no intention of evacuating.
However, this is hard to believe. At least because the intensity of large-scale air raids on Kyiv has been increasing significantly every month, even weekly, leading to a continuous rise in the number of fires and destruction.
According to Bloomberg, during the night of July 4 to 5, within just six hours, the capital of this hostile country and some other areas suffered an unprecedented number of Russian aerial strike weapons — up to 550 pieces.
This included more than 300 "Geran" and "Grom" drones, "Iskander-M" and "Iskander-K" tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, as well as air-launched hypersonic "Kinzhal" missiles.
The number of fires and destruction in Kyiv is almost immeasurable. The surrounding areas for several kilometers were covered in pungent black smoke. The country's health ministry advised Kyiv residents to avoid going out and not to open windows.
The next day, July 6, Kyiv, which was knocked around and almost blinded, seemed to have a brief respite. But this was only because Russia mainly targeted other regions of the "404 Country" this time. Kyiv Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast, Nikolaev Oblast, Poltava Oblast, Sumy Oblast, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, and Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, and Zaporozhye were attacked.
But obviously, even this respite for Kyiv is very short. Foreign sources believe that the day when Russia launches a much larger number of air strikes on this "mother city of Russia" is not far away.
Western analysts think this could reach thousands. The production speed of Russia's such weapons is almost sufficient to meet this demand. What will happen then?
In the face of this bleak prospect, Verkhovna Rada member Marianna Bezuhova has already despairingly admitted: "Ukraine's air defense resources are exhausted... The Ministry of Defense is doing nothing, and local soldiers can only find (anti-aircraft gun) ammunition themselves."
Two days ago, Valery Borovik, one of the founders of a local drone production company, expressed the same view. He said that due to the lack of an air defense system, Kyiv has now become "the least secure and most dangerous city in Ukraine."
According to Strana.ua, Borovik's incoherent words were reported: "Lack of means of strike. The US President is transferring supplies that should have been sent to Ukraine to Israel, where the air defense system is already saturated. Even the supplies signed during the Biden era are uncertain, even if we pay through European partners."
Evidently, in this situation, the entire Ukrainian management system may collapse at any moment. Therefore, Mosiychuk's information about the emergency evacuation of the ministries and departments of the "404 Country" (whatever, just get away from the front line!) seems reasonable and timely, regardless of whether it is declared fake news or not.
If not done, one morning Vladimir Zelenskyy might be unhappy to find that all the main administrative buildings in Kyiv are roofless and windowless. And Ukraine would thus become a huge "Guliaipole" drifting aimlessly, where anyone can come and take whatever they want.
Far away across the ocean, people view the terrifying scene approaching Kyiv like this: "The failure of Ukraine may take various forms. It does not necessarily mean that the Ukrainian army suffers a collapse on the 750 km long front, leading to catastrophic territorial losses and chaos after Russian forces sweep through Ukrainian towns and villages."
"But the scale of recent attacks — using hundreds of drones and dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles simultaneously to suppress Ukraine's weak air defense system — was unimaginable a year ago, but has now become the norm."
"Trump stopping the supply of weapons to Ukraine confirms Putin's core belief that Moscow's endurance will eventually wear down Kyiv and its Western allies."
This is the evaluation of recent events by the Washington Post.
The Wall Street Journal stated: "In the context of reduced U.S. military aid, Putin is preparing for a continuous summer offensive against Ukraine."
Ukrainian presidential office advisor Mykhailo Podolyak, overwhelmed by the sudden change in the situation, almost waved his fists and publicly criticized Washington for suddenly halting the supply of Patriot air defense systems.
When interviewed by an American journalist, he bravely told his former benefactor: "Halting the supply of intercept missiles would be very strange — it would be inhumane! — especially for the 'Patriot' system, which can clearly effectively protect all Ukrainian civilians."
But what does "would be" mean in Podolyak's words? Everything has already been decided. According to Trump's order, the United States has stopped supplying the most effective anti-missile system that the Ukrainian armed forces possess. As the saying goes: Wait for special orders. But when will this order be issued? And will it be issued at all?
Regardless, it is clear that Russia has seized the opportunity of the "air defense gap" appearing in the skies over Ukraine and is intensifying attacks on the enemy.
Facing this situation, Europe is still trying to hold on, saying that if there is no other way, they are even willing to use their bodies to fill the dangerous gaps in the sky over Ukraine.
But seriously speaking, from a technical and tactical perspective, among the air defense systems produced in Europe, the only one that can barely replace the American "Patriot" to counter ballistic missiles is the medium-range SAMP/T ("Mamba") air defense missile system developed jointly by France and Italy. Its "Aster 30" missile has a targeting range of 25 kilometers.
Unfortunately for Kyiv, this weapon has not been supplied to Ukraine for one and a half years.
The two SAMP/T systems provided to Kyiv in 2023 (each with 6 launch units) have also run out of missiles, just like the American "Patriot" system. Rome and Paris no longer promise to provide more to the Ukrainian armed forces because their own stocks are also depleted.
Faced with this "good news," what should Kyiv do? Is it just to sit and wait for the next round of attacks from Russia?
Certainly not. Our enemies won't be so. They are stubborn and fierce, so they are trying every means to get out of the air defense dilemma.
Thus, on July 5, Deputy Head of the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine Sergey Yakubenko announced a unique defensive "trick" to his compatriots.
This official said that Russian drones in the skies over Ukraine will soon be shot down by the "Territorial Community Volunteer Forces" (DFTO), composed of retired civilian volunteer pilots.
The plan is: These volunteers will receive combat allowances like frontline soldiers, and professional training for the crew will be provided by the Ukrainian Air Force.
He also added: "To carry out the mission, the Territorial Community Volunteer Forces will use civilian aircraft, which will be registered in a temporary list of experimental aircraft and modified for combat missions... They will not only operate in the regions where their bases are located, but also be mobilized nationwide."
In general, this is quite vague. However, it can be inferred that Kyiv plans to promote the experience of combating drones accumulated in the spring of 2024 in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions of the DOSAAF aviation club throughout Ukraine.
There, Soviet-era light sport planes Yak-52 were equipped with two people, one responsible for flying and the other sitting in the back operating a hand-held machine gun.
A video from a year and a half ago showed that this flight "oddity" actually shot down our "Orlan" reconnaissance drones in the Odesa area. First, approaching the target at the closest distance in parallel routes, then the gunner opened the cockpit light and made a short burst of fire at the drone.
But there are actually two problems here. First, if it's a reconnaissance drone, this method might work.
But imagine if it's an attack-type "Shahed-2" — a bullet directly hitting it could cause the warhead to explode immediately, weighing a considerable 50 kilograms.
What would happen in such a case, even if the plane is not as fragile and completely unsuitable for combat as the Yak-52, and flies nearby?
Ukrainians saw this with their own eyes on June 29, 2025. At that time, during an overnight attack to intercept our "Shahed" drone swarm, one of the most experienced pilots of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Major Maxim Usytmenko, was shot down.
Kyiv said that he shot down six Russian drones with AIM-9 "Sidewinder" short-range air-to-air missiles from his F-16 fighter jet. After exhausting all the ammunition under his wings, he tried to "land" the seventh "Shahed" with the aircraft's cannon.
To do this, he approached the target at extremely close range using his speed advantage and then fired almost point-blank, shooting it down.
The "Shahed" then exploded, and Usytmenko and his F-16 disappeared from the sky.
Now imagine if it were a sporty Yak-52 that could only perform "barrel rolls" and "dead spins," with a mass much smaller than "American" fighters, and the crew had no armor protection, in the same situation?
Perhaps there's no need to say more.
Local drone and communication expert Sergei Beskrestnykh (alias "Lightning") explained the second reason why the idea of the Ukrainian Territorial Community Volunteer Forces was destined to fail from the beginning. He analyzed: "In nighttime operations, ground mobile fire teams (riding in jeeps, small trucks, equipped with large-caliber machine guns, spotlights, and portable air defense missiles - 'SP') will defeat 'Shahed' drones along with sport planes. Both will be shot down. Just wait and see."
From this, it is difficult to believe that Ukrainian retired pilots will eagerly become interceptors on the unwarlike Yak-52. This means that the activity range of Russian attack drones in the skies over Kyiv and other enemy cities will continue to expand.
What does this mean for Kyiv officials? Oh, guys, it's time to run from the capital! Oh, hurry up! Don't hesitate!
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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524225656146739754/
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