17 IRIS-Ts will boost Ukraine’s air defenses but it’s still not enough, experts say

Ukraine's continued requests to Western allies for more air defenses were answered in part this week, with the announcement that Germany has ordered an additional 17 IRIS-T air defense systems for Kyiv.

And the timing couldn't be more critical – an ongoing campaign of aerial strikes on Kharkiv, devastating attacks like that on Ukraine's largest children's hospital in July, a strike on Poltava earlier this week that killed at least 55 people, and an attack on Lviv the day after, repeatedly highlight the shortcomings in the country's air defenses.

But according to experts who spoke to the Kyiv Independent, while welcome, the IRIS-Ts will be unable to protect from something that has become an increasing concern in recent days – Iranian ballistic missiles.