MOSCOW, December 14. /TASS/. The potential shipment of Patriot missile defense systems to Kiev will not radically affect the progress of hostilities in Ukraine, but will complicate Russian-American relations even further, says Andrey Bystritsky, head of the Valdai Discussion Club Development and support foundation council.
According to the expert, Patriot systems are not a weapon that will radically turn the situation in Ukraine.
"There are no miracle weapons in the world, so Patriot shipments will not radically change the situation in Ukraine," he said.
Meanwhile, Bystritsky underscored that such a step may complicate the Moscow-Washington dialogue even further.
"The reaction of the Russian side to shipments of Patriots may be very diverse. In a political sense, it will complicate Russian-US relations even further and will motivate Russia to treat the US with even greater distrust," the expert added.
Meanwhile, head of the Russian International Affairs Council Andrey Kortunov underscored that the US could provoke an escalation in Ukraine.
"It is not necessarily a crossing of some red line, but it is certainly an escalation of the American military aid to a new level. I think it will definitely elicit a Russian response," he underscored.
Kortunov noted that the efficiency of the Patriot system depends on a number of factors. He noted that these systems come in various modifications and have different ranges.
"There are modifications with a range of 30-40 kilometers, and then there are longer-range systems, which exceed 100 kilometers," he continued.
In addition, Ukrainian servicemen will have to be trained to use these systems.
"It is a very complex system. I believe this was one of the reasons that it was not shipped earlier - that such shipments involve numerous logistical tasks and personnel training tasks. In any case, if such shipments begin, then, of course, it will take months to prepare Ukrainian servicemen to use the Patriot systems," Kortunov concluded.