06/25/2024 – Translated from Ukrainian via Google and OFP
Against the background of the mass use of guided aerial bombs by the occupying country Russia, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky called on allies to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons for attacks on Russian military airfields.
What kind of weapons can we talk about? First of all, ATACMS, in particular in the M39 modification. This is a cluster munition that can destroy an entire squadron of enemy aircraft.
In addition, Storm Shadow with a range of 500 km and missiles for the F-16 fighter – AGM-158 JASSM, which hit targets at a distance of up to 900 km, will come in handy. There are hopes for domestic development of long-range missiles.
Military expert, reserve colonel Petro Chernyk expressed this opinion in an exclusive interview with OBOZ.UA.
– President Zelenskyy called on the Western partners to give permission to strike the transferred weapons against the military airfields of the aggressor country Russia. If such a decision is made, in your opinion, which of the weapons that have already been transferred can be useful?
First of all, ATACMS.
– But their range is only 300 km at best.
– Yes, 300 km is the possible maximum for ATACMS. There is also a Storm Shadow missile at 500 km. However, there is another missile for the F-16 fighter – the AGM-158 JASSM. It can strike at a distance of up to 900 km. These are the three categories of missiles that allies can give us.
Another rocket is one that we can create ourselves. This is the P-360 “Neptune”, if it will be improved and it will be able to operate at a greater distance. I think these works are in progress.
– Which of these Western missiles is the most powerful, the most effective in terms of destroying enemy aircraft?
– The most popular is AGM-158 JASSM.
– Could you explain how the destruction of the enemy’s aircraft park can take place? For example, there is an airfield where a dozen or more planes are located. One missile attacks him. Does this mean that only one plane can be destroyed?
– No. If the warhead is a cluster, then many more aircraft can be destroyed. For example, ATACMS in the M39 variant contains 900 sub-elements. What exactly is it about? We imagine a tangerine, packed with explosives, in a metal jacket. At an altitude of 50-70 meters from the target, this missile opens and throws out “balls” with a diameter of up to several hundred meters, which explode. In this way, a veil of debris is formed, several hundreds of thousands of debris. They cut everything that can be cut. And airplanes are duralumin plus some steel.
That is, one missile can cover a squadron, about 12 planes.
– South Korea announced its readiness to provide weapons to Ukraine. Do you know what weapons this country has and what it could transfer to us?
– For example, the Polish Krab self-propelled artillery installation has a Korean undercarriage. So, they already partially helped us, because Poland transferred these self-propelled guns to Ukraine.
There are excellent 155-caliber K9-Grip guns. It is nothing but a continuation of the American M-109 Paladin. There are beautiful Black Panther tanks, one of the best. There is even aviation – KAI KF-21 Boramae planes, an analogue of the American F-35 fighters.
South Korea is a huge producer of weapons, especially in the area of microelectronics. Microelectronics are endlessly needed, especially for FPV drones. So, there is something to convey, the only question is whether they will take this step.
– The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, General Budanov, assessing the situation at the front, noted that “there will be no Armageddon”, but “the situation is quite difficult” and “will remain so for at least a month.” Do you agree with these assessments? Why the moon?
– And how else should it be? Russia has a huge human potential, their task is to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In such dry weather as now, they will be doing their best. Right now, this summer, Putin needs to implement this task. Will it succeed? I do not know.
– So, on the one hand, Putin emphasizes that it is necessary to “liberate” Donetsk, Luhansk regions plus two more, which he wrote into the constitution. On the other hand, the enemy is attacking Kharkiv, Odesa, and other settlements located outside these regions. What goals do you think the Kremlin is pursuing when it carries out such attacks? What could be the further geography of strikes?
– They strike all over Ukraine. There is no city of a large caliber, say, the level of Lviv, which would not survive the blow. Probably, only Zakarpattia Oblast remains. It is very difficult to aim there.
Russia does not abandon the goal of eliminating Ukrainian statehood, sowing panic and fear so that we surrender. This goal has not changed since the first day of the war.
– And regarding energy infrastructure facilities. We see how the enemy is trying to destroy them. Do you think they can be protected better than they are now?
– Of course you can. Everything possible is being done in this direction. But you need to understand that Ukraine is a very big country. No one expected such a war. The Allies do not have that many free anti-aircraft missile systems to hand over to us, and the production of new domestic ones, which has already begun, takes time, time and more time. After all, no one will give the last.
The wonders Ukraine could do to in this war if only it had the tools and the permission. It’s a sad, sad world we live in, dominated by brutal dictators on one side and marshmallows on the other.