A major Ukrainian metal and mining company that makes so-called cope cages for the country’s tanks and fighting vehicles says it has installed a new armor protection system on at least one of Ukraine’s operational high-end air defense systems, with plans to produce more. The development comes from lessons learned in the war. First Russia, then Ukraine, began adding caging and additional armor to nearly all their mechanized equipment to provide some level of protection, primarily against drone attacks.
Today, Western air defense systems donated to Ukraine are among Russia’s highest priority targets, with strikes on them from various types of lower-end drones and more advanced standoff munitions, including time-sensitive attacks using drones for spotting and Iskander ballistic missiles for the strikes. Artillery can also pose a danger for those systems located close to the front.
The Metinvest Group on Friday said it has designed a system using nearly 200 armored steel plates, up to 8 mm thick, that are attached to the sides of a Western-donated air defense system’s command module. The total weight of the armor exceeds 2.6 tons “but does not affect the system’s functionality or mobility,” Metinvest claimed. It is a part of the firm’s broader “Steel Front” wartime production initiative, which has also been churning out pre-fabricated protected shelters, body armor, and other kinds of materiel for the Ukrainian armed forces.
The company said the system is designed to protect against shrapnel, without mentioning any specific weapon. Even protection from nearby strikes could be critical to the survivability of air defenders and their vehicles as many of these air defense systems are made up of multiple mobile or semi-mobile components. If one is directly targeted, armor could help save the prized command vehicle and its occupants nearby. The same can be said for some cluster weapon and artillery attacks.
“We developed the project from scratch in a month and a half, and, following the blueprints, manufactured a shield for the crews of the Patriot surface-to-air missile (SAM) system using Metinvest’s Ukrainian armor steel,” said Oleksandr Myronenko, chief operating officer of Metinvest Group and head of the Group’s dedicated steel production for the needs of the Ukrainian army. “This shield guarantees protection against fragmentation damage for both the defenders and the air defense control system. Our experienced engineers also supervised the assembly of the armor.”
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Col. Yuri Ignat told us that the protection system was actually installed on a German-made IRIS-T SLM air defense system now deployed in Ukraine. You can see the command module for that system in the video below and the images at the top of this story. The reason for the discrepancy is unclear, but it could very well exist on both types. We have reached out to Metinvest for details.
Ukraine has received two types of IRIS-T-based systems from Germany. The IRIS-T SLS is for short-range protection while the IRIS-T SLM is for medium-range. Both fire variants of the IRIS-T missile were originally designed for air-to-air applications. Germany’s Diehl Defense makes the IRIS-T. Ukraine has received six SLMs and five SLSs.
To date, Ukraine has lost several components to Western-donated Patriot, IRIS-T, and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) air defense systems, according to the Oyrx open-source tracking group. At least two M901 launchers for MIM-104 Patriot systems have been destroyed and an AN/MPQ-53 radar damaged. At least one MAN SX45 8×8 launcher for an IRIS-T SLM system was destroyed and a TRML-4D multi-function radar was damaged while two NASAMS launchers have been destroyed, the group states. The actual figures are very likely to be significantly higher because Oryx only tabulates losses for which it has visual confirmation.
Metinvest said it has drawn on its previous experience with armored vehicles to develop the new protection system for the air defense systems.
“The Group has mastered the production of steel screens for the main domestic T-64 and T-72 tanks, American M1 Abrams tanks, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and is preparing to integrate them into various Leopard 2 modifications,” the company noted. “To date, more than 300 screens have been delivered to the military.”
Back in March, we profiled the company’s development of the Abrams caging. From the pictures Metinvest released of the Abrams equipped with the screen, the array was extensive with a main screen on top of the turret and others around the front, sides, and rear. The full configuration looked to have additional angled sections that close the gaps between the top and side panels. In the image below, you can see very small gaps left open for the Abrams’ side-mounted launchers used to fire smoke grenades to help conceal the tank. It is worth noting that FPV drone operators have been proven very adept at using available gaps, even small ones, in armor screens and other defenses to slip in and make attacks.
Another image provided by the company shows an additional screen attached to the rear of the hull.
As Metinvest’s press release at the time made clear, the main purpose of the new and elaborate factory-made cope cage for the Abrams is to help protect these high-value tanks against first-person view kamikaze drones. Highly maneuverable and carrying warheads that detonate on contact, armed uncrewed aerial vehicles of this type have become a near-constant scourge on both sides of the battlefield in Ukraine. FPV types, in particular, are now talked about as being on par with artillery in terms of battlefield significance. Russia has also steadily challenged Ukraine’s initial dominance in this field, as well.
One air defense expert we talked to questioned Metinvest’s claim that the added weight of the armor on the SAM command module won’t affect its mobility.
“Adding 4,600 pounds to any vehicles above the standard load plan is a lot of weight,” David Shank, a retired Army colonel and former commandant of the Army Air Defense Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, told us on Friday. “I would submit that this weight would hinder the performance of the prime mover which pulls these large trailer systems.”
That’s an important consideration, Shank added, given that Ukraine frequently moves around its air defense components to address emerging threats.
Any added protection for air defense crews will be welcome regardless, especially for the systems that are operating forward, well within the reach of multiple Russian threats.
The Latest
On the battlefield, Russia continues to chew up territory in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in the eastern part of Ukraine.
Here are the key takeaways from the latest Institute for the Study of War (ISW) assessment:
- Kursk: Ukrainian and Russian forces continued combat engagements in Ukraine’s salient in Kursk Oblast on Jan. 1 and 2, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.
- Kharkiv: Russian forces continued offensive operations near Vovchansk (northeast of Kharkiv City) on Dec. 31 through Jan. 2 but did not make any confirmed advances.
- Luhansk: Russian forces reportedly advanced northwest of Kreminna amid continued offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line on Jan. 1 and 2.
- Donetsk: Russian forces recently advanced near Siversk, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Kurakhove and Vuhledar but did not gain any ground near Chasiv Yar or Velyka Novosilka.
- Zaphorizhzhia: Russian forces recently advanced in western Zaporizhia Oblast amid continued offensive operations in the area on Jan. 1 to 2.
- Kherson: Russian forces continued attacks in the Dnipro River area and on the islands in the river delta on Dec. 31 and Jan. 1 to 2.
Sweden will give Romania SEK 300 million (about $27 million) to replace the Patriot system components it donated to Ukraine, the Swedish Defense Ministry (MoD) announced on Friday.
“The Immediate Action on Air Defence (IAAD) project is led by Germany and aims to support Ukraine’s air defenses with donations of various air defense systems and to support through joint funding those nations that have chosen to donate air defense systems to Ukraine,” according to the MoD. “Sweden reported interest in participating in the project during the autumn.”
Romania “is in need of financial resources to re-get projectiles, sensors, and other Patriot-type equipment as a replacement for the systems donated to Ukraine in 2024,” the MoD noted, adding that the funds come from previously announced aid packages to Ukraine.
The “strong and unpredictable” nature of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump could work in Kyiv’s favor, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a recent television interview.
“I would very much like President Trump’s unpredictability to be directed primarily toward the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader doubted Trump could live up to his promise of ending the nearly three-year-old war in just one day. However, “the ‘hot’ stage of the war can end quite quickly if Trump is strong in his position,” Zelensky suggested.
You can read more about Trump’s potential approach to Ukraine in our deep dive here.
Zelensky also said Trump responded favorably to the possibility raised by French President Emmanuel Macron of Western peacekeepers being deployed in Ukraine to oversee an agreement that stops the fighting.
“But I raised an issue, saying we didn’t hear what specific countries will join this initiative, and whether the U.S. will be there,” noted Zelensky, who met with Trump and Macron in Paris last month. Zelensky added that while the idea of European troops on Ukrainian soil is a good idea, it will take more than a symbolic gesture of just a few thousand.
While Zelensky lauded the idea of European troops providing a buffer against Russia, one of his top advisors urged caution about relying on allies too much.
As it stands, NATO has the troops but not the psychological preparedness to defend a potential invasion by Russia, Mykhailo Podolyak said in an interview.
Zelensky repeated his claim that the August invasion of Russia’s Kursk region is a significant advantage in Ukraine’s diplomatic efforts, particularly with nations in the Global South.
“Kursk is a very strong trump card in all negotiations, especially with countries that are very important to us, particularly those in the Global South,” he said, according to the Ukrainian Ukrinform news outlet. “I never anticipated it would have such a significant influence, as these nations had been under the sway of ‘invincible Russia.'”
Zelensky added that Russia’s decision to send North Korean military personnel to Kursk was a tactical blunder.
“They [the Russians] took the North Korean contingent. Where did they send it? To that very place [to the Kursk region]. I believe that this is a tactical mistake on their part,” he suggested.
As we have previously reported, of about 12,000 North Korean troops sent to Russia, more than 1,000 have been killed or wounded in Kursk, John Kirby, White House National Security spokesman, told reporters, including from The War Zone.
In 2024, Ukraine saw the return of nearly 1,400 troops and civilians from Russian captivity, Zelensky said.
“Their fates are different, but they are equally happy to return home,” he explained. “Each and every one of them for the sake of whom a large Ukrainian team worked. We must do everything to ensure that in 2025, there will be even more such good news and returns of our people. Thank you to our partners who help.”
Ukraine has launched an investigation into a French-trained military unit that reportedly suffered nearly 2,000 desertions before hitting the battlefield in Pokrovsk, including 50 troops who absconded while in France.
Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) is examining the actions of the 155th Mechanized Brigade after accusations of mismanagement and massive desertions were made by Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov, according to the Suspline news outlet.
“The investigation is ongoing,” SBI told Suspline on Thursday. “It is too early to talk about any preliminary results.”
On Dec. 31, Butusov, editor of the Ukrainian Censor.net news outlet, wrote a scathing story claiming his investigation found a host of problems with the brigade. Its founding was an “organizational chaos” from its inception and faced manpower shortages even before leaving for France as 2,500 troops were sent off to other units. That removed many of the most qualified personnel from the brigade.
Of the 1,924 soldiers eventually sent to France, only 51 had more than a year of military service, while 1,414 had served for less than two months, Butusov noted. Making matters worse, between March and November, more than 1,700 soldiers deserted, Butusov claimed without providing evidence. Though the unit was replenished with new recruits, these often did not undergo a “proper selection process,” the journalist posited. Butusov blamed Ukraine’s leadership, including Zelensky and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky.
“France fully fulfilled all obligations for arming and training the brigade, which the Ukrainians demanded,” Butusov wrote. “But during the training stage of the new brigade in France, more than 50 servicemen fled. This raised questions among the French leadership about the seriousness of the Ukrainians’ attitude to the implementation of such an expensive project. This approach seriously discredits Zelensky’s entire plan, and therefore a scandal began.”
The military, meanwhile, blamed the brigade’s commander, Dmytro Riumshin for those desertions. He was dismissed in early December alongside several other top officers. The new commanders were unaware of the problems plaguing the unit, adding to the confusion, Butusov wrote.
Beyond the desertion problem, the 155th Brigade did not receive drones or electronic warfare equipment from the Ukrainian command, Butusov argued. In addition to poor organization and insufficient training, that is said to have contributed to the losses the unit suffered once deployed in combat in November.
“This is indeed a crime, but the crime is not of soldiers and officers – but of the leaders of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Headquarters, the Ministry of Defense, and the General Staff, who continue to waste lives and state funds on new projects, instead of strengthening experienced and combat-ready brigades,” Butusov concluded.
The War Zone cannot independently verify his claims.
A Russian assault on a Ukrainian trench position using quads reportedly resulted in heavy casualties. The following video shows Ukrainian FPV drones chasing down and destroying the mounted and dismounted Russian troops. It is claimed that the Ukrainian 12th Azov Brigade halted the attack, and destroyed the vehicles, killing and wounding hundreds.
The horror of trench warfare in the snowy battlefield of eastern Ukraine is captured in this video of troops fighting in the Luhansk region.
That battle involved several troops. The following video depicts a Ukrainian soldier’s approach to a Russian position devolving into a desperate close-quarters knife fight that shows what men will do to survive the war. Warning, it is extremely graphic.
There have been a lot of modifications made to equipment during this conflict by both sides. The following video shows one such improvisation – a bathtub welded as a sidecar to a motorcycle.
Another video shows a North Korean soldier admiring a makeshift anti-drone weapon consisting of six AK variant assault rifles mounted on a moveable metal platform.
And finally, while both sides continue to develop counter-drone capabilities, at least one FPV drone was downed in a most unusual way – by a cat.
That’s it for now.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com