NEW YORK, July 2. /TASS/. If Ukraine loses control of its airspace due to a shortage of air defense systems and missiles, Kiev will be at risk of losing all of its defenses, Bloomberg columnist Marc Champion said.
According to him, the recent escalation of the Middle East conflict benefited Russia because "has sucked attention, energy and resources away from Ukraine." The journalist pointed out that Israel managed to "blunt" the effect of the Iranian missile attacks by using a significant amount of its air defenses. "The threat may have receded for now, but planners at the Pentagon are obliged to assume the war restarts and more air defense will be needed, making less available for Ukraine," Champion noted.
He emphasized that "Ukraine is at a critical juncture." Amid US President Donald Trump’s unwillingness to provide Ukraine with the same amount of military aid as before, the Russian army has adopted air attack tactics, the journalist pointed out. "From the moment Ukraine runs out of air defense interceptors, Russia’s air force — still menacing in its scale and capabilities — would for the first time be able to impose air superiority across the country. The impunity that Israeli jets enjoyed over Iran should serve as a timely reminder of exactly what this could mean for Ukraine: a catastrophic collapse of defensive lines as its troops were bombed into submission from the air," Champion concluded.