30 ATACMS missiles are needed to destroy S-400, S-300 in Crimea, Kerch Bridge is next target — military expert

He expressed this opinion on Espreso TV.

When asked when the Ukrainian Armed Forces would be able to strike the Crimean bridge, Kovalenko said that when the conditions are most favourable.

"We started our conversation with you from the airfield in Dzhankoi, where the division of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment was destroyed, the same one that sided with the Russian occupiers in 2014, that is, the first division of traitors was destroyed, and retribution has begun. Another nuance is the fact that there are several sites that have S-400 launchers in service: Feodosia, Yevpatoriya, Sevastopol, and Cape Tarkhankut. Again, these are all the same divisions of the 18th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, two divisions of the 12th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (also traitors, by the way) and the Third Radio Regiment," said the military and political observer of the Information Resistance group.

Kovalenko explained that these weapons pose a threat to air attacks on the Crimean bridge.

"As soon as these components cease to be combat-ready, the airspace of Crimea will not be covered by long-range S-400 and S-300 systems, which opens up appropriate routes to the bridge with one or another type of weapon. We conclude that in order to finish off all the sites where Russian S-400 air defense systems are located, we need at least 30 more ATACMS missiles, and then we can say that such illegal construction as the Kerch Bridge deserves a new legal destruction," Kovalenko concluded.

• On April 23, Zelenskyy held a phone conversation with US President Joe Biden, during which the two leaders discussed the first package of US aid after the law was passed and ATACMS was delivered.
• Agents of the Atesh guerrilla movement reported that Russia had stepped up construction of fortifications throughout the temporarily occupied Crimea.