Ukraine says missile interceptor deliveries have fallen to third of 2025 level
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A man walking past plastic bags containing the bodies of people killed at a railway station in the Kyiv region on Aug 5, during Russian ballistic missile and drone strikes.
PHOTO: AFP
- Ukraine received only one-third of the air defence missiles in 2026 compared to 2025, causing shortages amid increased Russian missile attacks on Kyiv and southern ports.
- Ukrainian air defences failed to intercept missiles during recent attacks, while Russia can launch about 100 ballistic missiles monthly and has deployed North Korean missiles.
- Ukraine seeks to develop a pan-European anti-ballistic system and requests US permission to produce Patriot missiles, as current capabilities do not allow strikes on Russian missile launchers.
AI generated
KYIV – Allies have supplied just a third of the air defence missiles to Ukraine in 2026 compared with 2025, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug 5, as Russia escalates strikes on the capital of Kyiv and its southern port hub.
Ukraine has been short on US-made Patriot interceptors capable of downing Russian ballistic missiles since the start of the war. But in recent weeks, the acute shortage came into focus, with Moscow pummelling Kyiv, on average, every three days in July alone.
“And this is not just a summer phenomenon – it applies to every period of the first half of 2026,” Zelensky added on the Telegram app.
In what has become a pattern in recent weeks, Ukrainian air defences failed to intercept a single one of the 24 ballistic missiles and four Zircon cruise missiles during an Aug 5 attack, the air force said.
Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian President on the development of defence technology, estimates that Russia is capable of launching 100 ballistic missiles every month to attack logistic hubs, industrial facilities and warehouses.
“The war of attrition has entered its next phase,” he said on the Telegram app.
In addition to its own capabilities, Russia again turned to the deployment of North Korean missiles. Last week, Moscow’s troops fired the first two North Korean missiles since August 2025, Ukraine said.
A North Korean missile unit has begun deploying to western Russia and could be equipped with 120 ballistic missiles and six launchers, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence.
With interceptor stocks limited across the globe and political volatility affecting supplies, one possible way for Ukraine to counteract is to target Russian missile launchers, some military analysts say.
Ukraine’s current capabilities do not permit such strikes. Kyiv is also pressing allies to develop a pan-European anti-ballistic system and has sought a licence from the US to produce Patriot missiles itself. REUTERS
