Ukraine says it hit an Iskander launcher near the border—part of a dedicated hunt for Russia’s ballistic launch sites

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that his country's forces struck a Russian Iskander launcher near the border as part of a targeted hunt for Russian ballistic missile launch sites. Zelenskyy attributed the successful strike to his nation's warriors, praising their efforts in taking down the system. However, he declined to disclose the exact location of the launcher or the weapon used by Ukrainian forces.

The president explained that when anti-ballistic missile stocks are limited, Ukraine has resorted to a separate program targeting the launch positions of ballistic missiles. This new approach has proven effective, as Ukraine has already struck Russian ballistic missile infrastructure in multiple operations throughout the year. In April, Ukrainian drone forces targeted two Iskander systems in Crimea, and in late May, they destroyed an Iskander system at a launch position near Taganrog in Russia's Rostov Oblast.

Ukraine's efforts to counter Russian ballistic missile attacks have been hampered by the scarcity of Patriot interceptors and the acute shortage of such systems. In a bid to overcome this challenge, Kyiv has combined interception with strikes on the systems and positions used to launch those missiles. Zelenskyy emphasized the complexity and difficulty of this tactic, describing it as a separate program and operation.

The pursuit of better methods to operate long-range drones against military targets in Russia is another area of focus for Ukraine. President Zelenskyy revealed that SpaceX had initially rejected Ukraine's request to use Starlink inside Russia due to escalation concerns. Despite this setback, Ukraine continues to discuss the issue with the US side.

The Defense Ministry has requested that Zelenskyy raise the matter with US President Donald Trump in the first half of 2026, as the space company had promised to relay Trump's decision to him.