Ukraine's military intelligence reveals Russian missile production figures 'exceeding monthly targets'

Ukraine's military intelligence agency, HUR, has revealed that Russia's missile production is exceeding monthly targets by 10–20%. Vadym Skibitskyi, deputy head of HUR, stated this during an interview with RBC-Ukraine on August 10. This comes amidst a significant shortage of air defense capabilities in Ukraine to intercept Russian ballistic missiles. Despite maintaining high interception rates against other missile types, Russia's growing production is straining Ukraine's air defenses further.

According to Skibitskyi, Russia produced 87 Kh-101 cruise missiles in July, surpassing its planned monthly output by 140%. The Kh-101 target for both July and August was set at 72 missiles. A similar pattern was observed with the Kalibr cruise missile, where Russia produced 29 in July, exceeding the target of 26 by 11%. The Kh-35 production reached 200% of the planned monthly output, though the exact number of missiles produced was not specified.

Notably, Russia had already fulfilled its annual production targets for the Zircon and Oniks missiles by August 3, with 33 and 60 units manufactured in the first seven months, respectively. While the Oniks is used for ground targets, both weapons were initially developed as anti-ship missiles.

Ballistic missiles pose a severe threat to Ukraine, with only the U.S.-made Patriot capable of intercepting them. Ukraine currently faces a critical shortage of Patriot missiles. Russia has increased ballistic missile production due to a simplified technical controls system for missile production in its defense plants. Additionally, Russia has halted the production and use of Kinzhal missiles, redirecting resources to other ballistic missiles considered more effective.