Ukrainian Military Receives Martlet Air Defense Missiles - Official

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 19th December, 2022) Martlet missiles for the Starstreak man-portable air defense system entered into service in the Ukrainian military, Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian minister of internal affairs, said on Monday.

"Martlet is in service. Along with Ukraine, the armies of only two countries in the world - the United Kingdom and Indonesia - have it. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry demonstrated the work of our (military) and a multirole guided Marlet missile on the basis of the UK Starstreak man-portable air-defense system," Gerashchenko wrote on Telegram.

According to a video published by the Ukrainian official on Telegram, Marlet missiles allow the Ukrainian forces to create a multilayered air defense, which includes short- and mid-range systems such as the Buk-M1-2 as well as long-range ones including the S-300.

Western countries have been ramping up their military support for Kiev since February 24, when Russia began a military operation in Ukraine, following calls for help from the breakaway republics of Donetsk and Luhansk. In April, Moscow sent a note to NATO member states condemning their military assistance to Ukraine. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned that any arms shipments on Ukrainian territory would be "legitimate targets" for Russian forces.