Russia 'running out of Iskander and Kalibr missiles’

Part of a missile in the forest after a strike by the Russian military near the village of Vesnyane in Mykolaiv Oblast, August 8, 2022
Part of a missile in the forest after a strike by the Russian military near the village of Vesnyane in Mykolaiv Oblast, August 8, 2022

Vadym Skibitsky, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense, said in an interview with RBC-Ukraine that the Russians have a particularly difficult situation with the Iskanders.

He said there are about 20% or less of them left compared to what Russia had at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Due to a lack of effective Kalibr missiles, the invaders are using the Kh-22 and a ground version of the S-300.

Read also: Russia ‘almost definitely’ lying about reasons for halting Ukraine offensive, says UK intelligence

However, stocks of these missiles are also running low.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia has 30-40 hypersonic aero-ballistic air-to-surface Kinzhal missiles left, as Russia didn’t have sufficient time to put them into mass production. The invaders used them "to demonstrate strength both to us and to our partners, including the United States and China, showing that they have hypersonic weapons," Skibitsky said.

Read also: Russia fired more than 150 shells and rocket at Sumy Oblast

He said that according to regulatory documents, Russia should maintain a 30% reserve of high-precision missiles "but (reserves are) almost non-existent when it comes to some types of missiles."

“Like with the Iskander missiles for example,” Skibitsky said. “So, Russia will use other methods of destruction. They are now actively using Uragan and Smerch rocket systems – these are short-range, at 70, 80, up to a maximum of 100 kilometers.”

Read also: Russian invading forces hit Zhytomyr Oblast with missiles fired from Belarusian territory

He added that with these systems, invading Russian forces will try to destroy the infrastructure of Ukrainian cities, heating network facilities, and battle formations, as well as exert psychological pressure on the population.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Aug. 22 that Russia had fired almost 3,500 rockets and missiles into Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) reported that out of 20 missiles fired, only one hit a military facility, the rest hit civilian infrastructure.

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine