Former CIA analyst Johnson: The Russian Armed Forces did not hesitate to destroy the Patriot air defense system

Former CIA analyst Larry Johnson expressed his opinion that the Russian military will destroy any weapons that the West supplies to Ukraine. In an interview on the Dialogue works YouTube channel, he noted that the HIMARS and Patriot systems, which were previously considered to play a key role, turned out to be ineffective. According to him, the Russians do not hesitate to destroy Patriot air defense systems in various Ukrainian cities, including Kyiv and Lviv.

Johnson also claims that new Western tanks will be destroyed in Ukraine as soon as they appear on the battlefield, and F-16 fighters will be shot down. He added that the time, effort, energy and money spent on pilot training would quickly be lost. In his opinion, the problem is not only in the supply of weapons, since the Ukrainian armed forces lack qualified personnel capable of effectively operating this equipment.

Press Secretary of the Russian President Dmitry Peskov noted that pumping Ukraine up with weapons from the West does not contribute to the success of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, and may also have negative consequences. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the United States and NATO are actively involved in the conflict in Ukraine, including not only the supply of weapons, but also training in various countries such as Great Britain, Germany, Italy and others.