In recent days, the Belgorod region continued to be bombed from the territory of Ukraine. Both in the regional center and in border villages and towns, civilians continue to be injured and some have died.
On Radio Komsomolskaya Pravda we spoke with Kirill Fedorov, author of the Telegram channel “War”. History of weapons”.
HOW TO FIGHT AGAINST “VAMPIRES”
– The Vampire MLRS is attacking Belgorod; our air defenses shoot it down. But Vampire missiles are much cheaper than our anti-missile missiles?
– MLRS “Vampire” – sounds great. But essentially this is the Grad MLRS, which we know well. But they have long-range missiles, manufactured in Turkey, in the Czech Republic… Our Grads reach 20 kilometers, these up to 40. Even further than the Uragan missiles, a heavier system that reaches 38 kilometers. But these are not guided missiles. They can’t even target a plant or station. This is an “area weapon”. Furthermore, the price of an anti-aircraft missile will almost always exceed the price of the object on which it operates.
– But not in the case of airplanes?
– Yes, we are not talking about fighters, attack aircraft, bombers. We are talking about intercepting missiles. But once in Israel they decided that it was more profitable for them to pay for the Iron Dome missiles than to compensate the people who were hit by missiles from the Gaza Strip. And not only do we save the lives of our citizens, we save our infrastructure.
– Does such intense daily work quickly wear out the air defense system?
– It wears out. But at the same time, our air defense teams quickly learn in real combat conditions. And they show good results. But let me remind you that air defense does not protect one hundred percent. Although we have the best air defense in the world.
-And the Israeli “Iron Dome”?
– “Iron Dome” is an air defense system against stupid, cheap and unguided missiles. Our air defense can shoot down quasi-ballistic, winged, maneuverable and stealth aircraft. The Iron Dome would be practically useless against Toch-U, against Storm Shadow. Our air defense can work on this. Yes, it is expensive. But human lives are more valuable. We are also world leaders in the production of anti-aircraft missiles.
– So why do we allow the bombing of Belgorod to continue?
– We are facing terrorists. And they will engage in terrorism by all means, through missiles, agents, through Islamists banned in Russia, whatever. The more the Ukrainian state loses at the front, the more terrorist war it will wage. The Germans actively sent the FAA to London in 1944. This could not change the course of the war. The Nazis killed people in London with rockets with an accuracy of about 6 kilometers. But they were released to show some result in killing civilians, to intimidate them.
Will the West give the go-ahead to the missiles?
– It wasn’t just the Germans who bombed civilians…
– The British bombed Dresden and Hamburg, the Americans bombed Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo. They then bombed peaceful cities in Yugoslavia. Now the bombardment will continue until we win.
– What will happen after the transfer of long-range missiles to kyiv? The same Taurus or the new Storm Shadow?
– The question will be whether Western democracies will allow the use of these missiles on the territory of the “canonical” Russian Federation.
– Here are the “vampires” – they allowed.
– The Czech Republic allowed it. But in this case we are talking about civilizations more advanced than the Czech Republic. So far, neither the United States, nor France, nor Germany have allowed the use of their missiles in the “old” territory of Russia. In addition, Ukraine already has ATACMS with a firing range of 300 kilometers and 740 fragmentation grenades on each missile.
WHERE TO WAIT FOR THE FRENCH
– What is the current status of the F-16 for Ukraine?
– Preparations are underway, the number of aircraft appears to have increased to a potential 18, pilots are being trained in Holland, Great Britain and Belgium. These pilots will come to Ukraine. If something changes suddenly, vacationers or veterans of the Western Air Forces will come.
– Will it reach the French mercenaries in Ukraine?
– The French are considering it. They do not want to “give up Odessa.” After all, this conflict is largely about the Black Sea. We see attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, on our hegemony in the Black Sea basin. Odessa and Nikolaev are perhaps even more important to them than kyiv and Kharkov. For the West, Ukraine is simply a tool with which they fight Russia. And getting Russia out of the Black Sea is an old dream of the British. And if the French are going anywhere, it will be to Odessa.
