Counting down the arsenal: How Russia sustains its missile attacks

Russians do not cease shelling Ukrainian positions using various kinds of manoeuvring missiles. In light of the unceasing attacks, the question arises—how many missiles does Russia still have at its disposal? The spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Forces, Ilya Yevlash, answered this question on Ukrainian state television.

For several months now, the Russians have been using a new tactic, which involves accumulating a larger number of missiles to regularly shell Ukrainian positions. It is generally harder to defend against such a method of strikes, as the radars and launchers of anti-aircraft defence systems must be directed at many flying objects. However, Ukrainians proved they can handle even massive attacks – recently, their air defence was nearly 100 per cent effective during two Russian attacks.

As of the end of last year, the Ukrainians estimated that Russia had about 800 missiles available in its arsenal. This number was similar in the following months, so Russia's missile production trend is not decreasing. It can be assumed that it remains at a similar level, thanks to which the Russian Federation's army does not and most likely will not have problems related to a lack of ammunition in the coming months. The aggressor's army uses current weapon stocks.

Moreover, missile production in Russia last year was higher than before the war. The New York Times reported on this, and the site pointed out that higher production was also concerned with tanks. Before the invasion of Ukraine, the Russians produced 100 tanks a year, whereas in 2023, it increased to 200 units.

– The Russians still have quite a few missiles left. According to the Main Intelligence Directorate, they have almost 1000 left – explained Ilya Yevlash. The spokesperson also emphasizes that the aggressor's troops are using an increasing number of missiles, thus significantly depleting their stocks. Still, over time, they keep up with rebuilding used missiles.

Some Russian missiles are also used to detect Ukrainian systems. The Russians test them in combat conditions. They test both the missiles themselves and the Ukrainian air defence. One function of such strikes is reconnaissance, explains the spokesperson.

Ukrainian intelligence does not provide specific data regarding the missile models stored by the Russians. However, it can be assumed that a significant portion of them are Kh-101 missiles, one of the latest Russian designs, as it has been produced since 2010-2011. This particular model is regularly used in successive Russian attacks. Its length reaches about 7.3 metres, and its weight is almost 2.7 tonnes. The launched Kh-101 accelerates to about 1000 km/h, while its range is about 4500 kilometres.