Zelensky: Russia Amasses 10,000 S‑300 missiles for bombardments
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned in an interview with "The New York Times" that the Russian Federation has amassed around ten thousand S-300 missiles. The aggressor country continues to stockpile these missiles to carry out bombardments using a tactic that has been in use for several months. Their army is storing ammunition to strike simultaneously in multiple directions.
5:11 AM EDT, May 22, 2024
As recently reported by Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian Federation's reserves are essentially not dwindling. The Russian arms industry has been capable of uninterrupted production of additional missiles for months. At the beginning of May, the Russian arsenal was calculated to contain about 1,000 specific missiles, including several hundred units of the 3M55 Oniks, 3M14 Kalibr, and a few dozen of the Kh-69 and 3M22 Zircon.
Currently, Zelensky estimates the number of S-300 missiles in the Russian Federation's reserves to be around 10,000. This marks an increase, as the Russians have now accumulated 10,000 S-300 missiles. According to data published by the portal Visit Ukraine, in May 2023, the Russians had about 8,000 units in their reserves.
Missiles for the S-300 system
Some of the accumulated S-300 missiles may be expired. Military and political analyst Dmytro Snegiryov recently calculated that the Russians may have about 2,000 "expired" missiles being used for mass bombardments. This allows the Russian Federation to address the issue of weapon disposal.
The S-300 is an anti-aircraft missile capable of targeting virtually any flying object – aircraft, helicopters, drones, and even ballistic missiles. Its advantage lies in conducting bombardments using 13 different missiles, which may explain how the Russians could amass as many as 10,000 missiles.
Very fast missiles
The most threatening S-300 missiles to Ukraine measure about 25 feet in length and over 1.6 feet in diameter. A single rocket weighs about 4,000 pounds, with the warhead weighing 400 pounds. The maximum speed of these missiles (S-300PMU-1 and S-300PMU-2) is about 4,300 mph.
The ammunition can reach targets at altitudes of up to 17 miles and a maximum range of 125 miles in the case of the S-300PMU2 variant. Notably, missiles designed for the S-300 systems can also be launched by newer S-400 vehicles.
