Patriot no Silver Bullet for Air Defense: Pentagon Official; Quite an Old System: Putin

The Patriot air defense systems which the Pentagon announced would be given to Ukraine is no silver bullet for air defense and will complete a range of medium and short-range air defense capabiities, an unnamed Pentagon official said during a briefing Thursday.
"Patriot is capable of intercepting cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and aircraft. It's important to put the Patriot battery in context. For air defense, there is no silver bullet. Our goal is to help Ukraine strengthen a layered integrated approach to air defense. … Patriot will complement a range of medium and short-range air defense capabilities that we have provided and the allies have provided in prior donation packages," the DOD official said.
The Patriot is a sophisticated air defense system so training will be required and will take some time, said the official said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin assured that there would be an antidote to these weapons.
"As for the Patriot, this is a fairly old system, it does not work as, say, our S-300. But, nevertheless, those who oppose us proceed from the fact that these are defensive weapons - "And there will always be an antidote," he added in comments quoted by Interfax.