At a glance on a clear summer's afternoon, the U.S.-made Avenger air defense system is barely visible in the shadow of trees at the end of a dirt track outside Kyiv.
The short-range unit is an important part of a three-layered air defense network that Ukraine is trying to develop with a range of highly sophisticated Western systems to thwart Russian air attacks.
Russia has unleashed regular long-distance missile and drone attacks since October, but it seriously increased strikes in May as Ukraine prepared for a counteroffensive this month.