Even China doesn’t have that much air defense: an arms expert talked about the specifics of the strike on Odesa.

Expert: Russia changes tactics, concentrating attacks on specific cities

The Russian military command has changed its tactics of airstrikes, focusing on specific cities, as seen during the massive attack on Odesa on the night of December 13, reports Defense Express.

Armament expert Ivan Kirychevsky stated that during this attack, Russia used missiles of different types, including hypersonic “Kinzhal” and supersonic “Oniks”. These missiles are difficult to intercept due to their high speed, especially at the final stage of flight. The “Kinzhal” becomes vulnerable to Patriot systems at the final part of the trajectory when their speed decreases from 5 to 4 Mach. However, the availability of missiles for Patriots remains in question, notes Kirychevsky.

According to him, Russia’s new tactics involve the use of numerous drones that exhaust Ukraine’s air defense system, after which missiles are fired at the city. On December 13, this tactic led to massive shelling, resulting in significant power outages in the Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, and the right bank of the Kherson region experienced a total blackout. The Ministry of Internal Affairs reported that more than a million subscribers were left without power.

Kirychevsky adds that such a concentration of attacks on one city is a Russian innovation. He noted that even China, known for its powerful army, does not physically have such a number of air defense systems to repel such powerful strikes.