Ukraine's air defenses are struggling and shot down just 30% of Russian missiles last month, report says

Thibault Spirlet
·2 min read
68

  • Ukraine's air defenses shot down 30% of Russian missiles last month, per The Wall Street Journal.

  • That's down from 46% over the last 6 months, and 73% in the 6 months before that, the Journal reported.

  • Russia is exploiting gaps in Ukraine's defenses before Western supplies reach the front lines.

Ukraine's air defenses shot down just 30% of Russian missiles last month, compared to 46% over the last six months, according to The Wall Street Journal, highlighting a worrying trend for Ukraine.

Its success rate was as high as 73% in the six months before that, the Journal reported.

The outlet drew its analysis from daily data shared by the Ukrainian Air Force Command, it said.

Ukraine has struggled to intercept Russia's missile and drone attacks as it runs dangerously low on air defense systems and ammunition.

According to the data cited by the Journal, Ukraine has shot down just 10% of Russian ballistic missiles and has failed to intercept any S-300 and S-400 missiles fired by Russia into Ukraine this year.

At the same time, Russia has ramped up its drone and missile attacks by around 45% over the last six months, the Journal reported, citing the data.

It has almost doubled the number of Shahed drones it has deployed, tripled the number of ballistic missiles, and doubled the number of hypersonic Kinzhal and Zircon missiles it has fired, compared to the preceding six months, per the outlet.

Despite some gaps in the data, and Ukraine using it for propaganda purposes, an unnamed spokesperson for the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an unnamed independent defense analyst told the Journal that the statistics gave an overall accurate picture.

It is a picture that will be of concern to Ukraine and its allies.

Ukraine is waiting on significant resources from the US after Republicans in Congress finally agreed to a $61 billion military aid package.

Before the vote in Congress, the Pentagon said it could rush vital air defense weapons and artillery shells to Ukraine within days of the military aid bill clearing the Senate and receiving President Joe Biden's signature.

But according to a recent assessment by The Institute for the Study of War, Russia is exploiting Ukraine's weakened air defense systems before further supplies make it to the front lines.

And Russia's large-scale bombardments have the potential to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses while also depleting ammunition supplies, making it sometimes impossible for air defense systems to reload fast enough, an unnamed UAF spokesperson told the Journal.

An unnamed European military intelligence official told the Journal that the next two months or so will be key in determining whether Russian forces can be stopped before Western air defense systems reach the front lines.

Read the original article on Business Insider