Journalists of The New York Times, referring to US intelligence, claim that the Russian Il-76, which crashed in the Belgorod area on January 24, was allegedly shot down by the Patriot air defense system received by Ukraine from its Western partners.
NYT journalists claim that Il-76 was mistakenly shot down by Ukraine
Journalists of the publication, citing anonymous interlocutors from American intelligence, note that if there were Ukrainian prisoners of war on the plane, Ukraine did not know about it.
At the same time, the interlocutors of the publication assume that Russia may have exaggerated the probable number of dead.
Ukraine appears to have acted on legitimate but erroneous intelligence. The plane was previously used to transport missiles, which makes it a very valuable object — the journalists of the publication explain.
American officials did not confirm the identities of the passengers, but said at least some of them may have been captured.
However, US officials did not criticize Ukraine for using the Patriot system to attack Russian aircraft in general. Instead, they said it is precisely such innovations that Ukraine must adopt.
However, Ukraine's use of a Patriot missile to shoot down an Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod area is an example of how a new battle tactic can be promising and dangerous.
What is known about Ukraine's use of the Patriot air defence system
Last month, US military strategists met with their Ukrainian counterparts in Wiesbaden, Germany, to discuss new tactics that could help change the dynamics of the war, which has been deadlocked for the past year.
In particular, it remains unclear whether Ukraine will be able to continue using the Patriot air defence system in the event of the termination of military aid by the United States since each such missile costs about 4 million dollars.
The Patriot was initially designed to engage aircraft. Still, after the Gulf War, it was upgraded primarily to engage tactical ballistic missiles as the proliferation and importance of these weapons on the battlefield increased.
The Ukrainians returned the "Patriot" to its origins as an anti-aircraft weapon. In January, believing that a Russian cargo plane was loaded with missiles, the Ukrainians ambushed it. They moved one Patriot launcher closer to the border and then fired a missile when the cargo plane was within range. According to American officials, such a tactic is creative, but not revolutionary, the publication says.
Ukrainian officials first developed a plan to use the Patriot against aircraft last spring to try to thwart Russian air strikes.
On May 13, the Ukrainians threw a Patriot launcher into an area near the Russian border and shot down five planes.
After this operation, Ukraine secretly moved the Patriot system to the south, where it shot down a Russian Su-35 fighter jet over the Black Sea.
Only a few months later, in November, Ukraine confirmed the operation, saying that the use of the Patriot had at least temporarily deterred Russian operations.
