Disturbing news from Russia: Ukraine assesses enemy's armory

There has been a significant change in Russia's armament in the wake of the attacks on vital infrastructure last year. Ukrainian Air Forces spokesperson Jurij Ihnat has noted a disproportionate number of missiles and drones in the armory. Moreover, the enemy's arsenal is undergoing a rapid expansion process.

As stated by Jurij Ihnat, the Russian arsenal holds 870 missiles of diverse types. This includes missiles such as Kindżał, Iskander (in ballistic and maneuverable versions), Kalibr, Ch-101, and Ch-555. In an interview with RBK Ukraine, Ihnat revealed that this is a decrease compared to the numbers Russia had last year before initiating their campaign of attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure. The main targets were the energy sector, with the raids consistently ongoing throughout the fall and winter.

Kalibr missiles are a major threat due to the damage they have caused in Ukraine. Russia deploys various variants of this system. For example, 3M14 Kalibr is a land-based missile with a range of 932–1553 miles, and the 3M54 Kalibr is a short-range anti-ship missile with an estimated range of approximately 124 to 186 miles, depending on the version.

Another serious threat is the Ch-22 maneuverable missile. This type of weapon has recently been reintroduced to use by the Russian Federation. A single missile has a range exceeding 310 miles, and its warhead, weighing nearly, 2204 lbs, can inflict massive destruction.

Ihnat pointed out that the Ukrainian air defense successfully shot down 750 maneuvering missiles during the half-year-long attacks on the energy sector, which took place from September 9, 2022, to March 12, 2023. In total, the Russians used approximately 1100 missiles. "Their remaining stockpile accounts for about 30 percent. So, last September, they had around 1600 maneuvering missiles," emphasized Ihnat.

In the same duration, over a thousand drones were utilized by Russians, approximately 750 of which were shot down. "The situation for the Russians has now changed - they can manufacture drones and also receive a bulk quantity from Iran," highlighted the military spokesperson. The Shahed strike drones were intensively deployed in these attacks.

Ihnat elucidated that Russia's objective remains the same as last year - to bring about as much destruction and damage to Ukraine as possible. "They can launch mass attacks any day now. But they no longer have the resources they had a year ago," he interpreted.

The Air Forces spokesperson revealed that the Russians are currently not only accumulating missiles, but also reinforcing their strategic stockpile. "Most of the missiles under discussion can also carry tactical nuclear weapons. They require these critical supplies to threaten NATO countries and other adversaries," Ihnat evaluated.

Suspilne portal reviewed the assessments of British military intelligence, which suggested that Russia may have accumulated significant stockpiles in recent times by refraining from deploying maneuvering missiles from strategic bombers for two months. These stockpiles are expected to be utilised should Moscow decide to repeat mass attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. The November drone attacks involving many Shahed drones, as per British evaluations, were possibly a test of Ukrainian air defense capabilities in anticipation of potential future missile bombardments.