Zelenskyy says Ukraine used nearly $100 million in air-defense missiles in one night against Russian barrage

Yahoo
Yahoo
2h ago
Ukraine says defending against one major Russian barrage required nearly $100 million in interceptor missiles, underscoring the financial and logistical strain of maintaining air defenses and the push for more systems and interceptors.
Zelenskyy says Ukraine used nearly $100 million in air-defense missiles in one night against Russian barrage

Key insights

  • 1

    Air-defense costs are escalating quickly: Zelenskyy’s estimate suggests a single night of defense can consume close to $100 million in interceptor missiles alone.

  • 2

    Russia is using a mixed strike package: Ukraine’s air force data describes ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, an anti-ship missile, and hundreds of drones in the same attack.

  • 3

    Ukraine is signaling urgent resupply needs: Zelenskyy said Ukraine needs more missile batteries and interceptors to sustain defense against increased ballistic-missile use.

A What happened
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters that a Russian attack starting Monday night and continuing into Tuesday forced Ukraine to launch roughly €80 million (about $94 million) in air-defense interceptor missiles. He said the figure reflects only interceptor missiles and does not include other munitions used, while the attack also involved hundreds of drones. Ukraine’s air force reported Russia launched 18 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and one anti-ship missile; it said 27 were shot down and five hit their targets. Zelenskyy said Russia has significantly increased its use of ballistic missiles and argued Ukraine needs more missile batteries and interceptors to keep pace with the attacks.

Topics

World & Politics International Affairs Conflicts Security & Defense

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