Report finds 90 p.c of Russia’s projectile weapons failed in Could

A report printed Wednesday stated air defenses efficiently destroyed roughly 90 p.c of the projectile weapons Russia launched towards Ukraine in Could.

The evaluation got here from the Kyiv Submit, which stated information launched from Ukraine’s Air Pressure confirmed that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s navy tried to assault Ukraine with greater than 500 missiles and “kamikaze” drones in Could at a value of greater than $1.7 billion.

The Submit‘s report got here after Russia’s huge drone offensive this previous weekend on Kyiv. The Institute for the Research of Struggle (ISW), a U.S. suppose tank, stated Tuesday that these aggressive drone assaults—one of many largest offensives towards the capital metropolis throughout the warfare—have been unsuccessful. Citing the Ukrainian Common Workers, ISW wrote in its evaluation that 29 out of 31 drones Russia launched towards Kyiv throughout the weekend strikes have been shot down.

The whole month confirmed an identical sample for Russian projectiles. The Kyiv Submit stated that in 20 mixed Russian aerial assaults throughout Could, 533 out of 563 Russian missiles and Iranian-manufactured Shahed drones have been taken down by Ukrainian air defenses.

A big portion of the Russian projectiles destroyed by the air defenses have been incoming drones, of which 362 have been destroyed for a neutralization share that was over 90 p.c.

The Submit famous that every of the roughly 400 Shahed drones deployed carries a price ticket of round $20,000, which might add as much as a tally of round $8 million in Could.

The missile chargeable for essentially the most cash misplaced is the one which Russia used essentially the most throughout Could: Kh101-555s. The Post stated 114 of those missiles have been deployed—and 106 destroyed—by Ukraine, at an estimated price of $1.48 billion.

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of International Affairs by way of electronic mail for remark.

The information from the Ukrainian armed forces utilized by the Submit for its report couldn’t be independently verified by Newsweek. Nonetheless, a Could research launched by the Heart for Strategic and Worldwide Research (CSIS), a U.S. suppose tank, additionally documented what it known as Russia’s “strategically ineffective” missile strikes marketing campaign.

Ian Williams, the writer of the CSIS research, attributed Ukraine’s “rising success in intercepting Russian cruise missiles” to an “inflow of Western air defenses programs in October and November 2022.”

All through the 15 months of the warfare, commentators have speculated that Russia might run out of missiles as a result of the nation was not able to producing the weapons at a fast charge. In January, Estonian Intelligence Chief Margo Grosberg stated Putin’s forces might be able to perform missile strikes towards Ukraine for under three to 4 extra months.

Nonetheless, in late 2022 Putin inspired his authorities to work towards ramping up weapons manufacturing following his navy’s a number of battlefield losses. Russia additionally turned to Iran, which offered Putin hundreds of drones.