Russia fired a record number of missiles at Ukraine in July, launching 376 in a single month, more than twice the total recorded in June, according to an AFP analysis of Ukrainian air force data published on Saturday, as Kyiv renewed its calls for anti-ballistic defenses.
Daily reports issued by Kyiv’s air force showed the July total included 126 ballistic missiles, a sharp acceleration of a weapon type that military analysts estimated was used only 200 to 300 times in the whole of 2024. Ukraine managed to shoot down under a third of the ballistic missiles fired last month, the AFP tally of official data found.
Russia also fired 4,956 long-range drones at Ukraine during July, a figure down 14 percent on June. Ukrainian forces can intercept the vast majority of the drones, but the country still relies on supplies from allies to counter missiles, and officials say stocks of interceptors are running critically low.
Many of July’s attacks targeted the capital, Kyiv, which saw some of its deadliest strikes since the beginning of the war. At least 30 people were killed on the night of July 2 alone. On Saturday, Russia again struck Kyiv with ballistic missiles and drones, killing at least nine people and wounding dozens in what officials described as a renewed escalation against the city.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly warned that Ukraine faces critical shortages of air defenses, particularly against ballistic missiles. The ultra-fast weapons travel on a high arcing trajectory before crashing down on their targets, are extremely hard to stop and often arrive with only minutes of warning, if any at all.
Zelenskyy traveled to the White House in late July to press for the supply of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors, one of the only systems reliably capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. President Donald Trump initially said he would allow Ukraine to produce the interceptors, but he has since expressed reservations, saying on Friday that Washington had to be very careful about sharing the technology.
The record July figure underscores how both sides have escalated long-range attacks as the war grinds through its fifth year, with heavy fighting along the front line and no negotiated settlement in sight. The AFP analysis was based on the Ukrainian air force’s daily published combat reports, which count missiles and drones fired at Ukrainian territory.
Sources: The Moscow Times, RFI, Yahoo News
Author: Ukraine Desk
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