Russia says it will never run out of missiles

Kalibr cruise missile launched from warship. Photo: Tass

The Russian Defense Ministry posted a diagram on its official Telegram channel showing a cruise missile being launched from a warship with the words: "(Cruise missile) Kalibr will never run out." Kalibr, first produced in 1994, is one of Russia's main long-range weapons. They have been used by Russia to attack Ukrainian military and infrastructure targets since the conflict began.

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said its air defense systems destroyed 54 of the 69 missiles launched on the morning of December 29. In Kiev, officials also said 16 missiles were shot down.

According to Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, most of the city was without electricity after the Russian airstrikes. Odessa Governor Maksym Marchenko announced that the attacks had led to emergency power cuts while Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that 40% of the city's population was without electricity.

Russia continues its attacks on Ukraine’s vital infrastructure. The airstrikes have prompted the West to extend assistance to Kiev with generators and equipment to repair the power grid, as well as air defense systems to protect Ukrainian cities from Russian cruise missiles and drones. These include the US-made MIM-104 Patriot surface-to-air missile system, the most expensive air defense system supplied to Ukraine since the conflict began in late February. Ukrainian troops are currently being trained to use the Patriots, a process that could take several months.

Some Ukrainian and Western officials say Russia’s cruise missile arsenal is running low because Moscow’s most advanced weapons rely on imports of Western technology. They say years of sanctions have reduced Russia’s production capacity. But despite the pressure, Moscow has continued to launch large numbers of missiles at targets across Ukraine.

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in early November that Russia had used 63 percent of its pre-war missile stockpile of about 500 Kalibr missiles. Between February and November, Oleksii Reznikov said Russia could produce 120 new Kalibr missiles. According to him, Russia has used 87 percent of its pre-war 900 Iskander ballistic missiles and 32 percent of its pre-war Kh-22/32 anti-ship missiles out of 370.

However, even if the above figures are correct, Russia still has thousands of missiles to continue attacks. This includes nearly 7,000 surface-to-air missiles for the S-300 along with ground-attack weapons, hundreds of anti-ship missiles and dozens of nuclear-capable hypersonic Kinzhal missiles./.