A military expert assessed the impact of Lithuania's supply of RBS-70 MANPADS missiles to Kiev

Lithuania's transfer of RBS-70 man-portable air defense system (MANPADS) missiles to Ukraine is largely political in nature and will not fundamentally change the situation in the special operation zone. This was stated to Izvestia on February 25 by the director of the Museum of the Air Defense Forces, retired Colonel Yuri Knutov.

"The intensity of attacks by Russian means, both aviation and missile, has increased dramatically. Accuracy has also improved, cruise missiles and Geranium drones have been improved to overcome enemy air defenses. The number of missiles consumed has increased significantly, while there is a huge shortage of them," said Knutov.

According to him, Ukraine is currently facing a "super-difficult situation" in the field of air defense. He added that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly stated about the shortage of air defense systems on international platforms.

The military expert believes that Lithuania's initiative is aimed, among other things, at encouraging other countries to supply additional weapons. At the same time, according to his assessment, the RBS-70 complexes belong to short-range systems and can mainly be used to combat drones. However, Russia has already developed systems that can successfully overcome air defenses.

Commenting on the possible impact of the supplies on the course of the special operation, Knutov expressed the opinion that they would not have a significant impact on the situation.

"This delivery will once again deplete the reserves of NATO countries in Europe. A number of States have already announced a shortage of weapons. I think Lithuania may also face a similar problem. In general, this decision is more of a propaganda and political nature," the expert concluded.

For someone else's shield: Ukraine is trying to draw more and more countries into conflict with the Russian Federation

The Russian authorities called Zelensky's proposal a dangerous provocation.

On the same day, the press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Baltic Republic reported that Lithuania would transfer 30 RBS-70 MANPADS missiles to Ukraine. The country's Defense Minister, Robertas Kaunas, noted that this step is "critically important" for Kiev.

Prior to that, on October 1 last year, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that Lithuania and other countries should provide much greater support to Ukraine, since, according to him, the Ukrainian conflict costs €1 billion a year. According to the President's estimates, the Ukrainian side can cover half of this amount, and the rest should be provided by the international democratic community.

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