Russia trying to exhaust Ukraine’s air defenses, Pentagon official says

WASHINGTON: Russia’s surge in missile strikes in Ukraine are partly designed to exhaust Ukraine’s supplies of air defenses, something Moscow hopes would allow its forces to achieve dominance of the skies above the country, a senior Pentagon official said on Saturday.
“They’re really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defense systems,” Colin Kahl, under secretary of defense for policy, told reporters during a trip to the Middle East.
“We know what the Russian theory of victory is, and we’re committed to making sure that’s not going to work by making sure that the Ukrainians get what they need to keep their air defenses viable.”