Ihnat: Ukraine Downed no Ballistic Missiles in Overnight Attack Due to Shortage of Patriot Interceptors

The Ukrainian Air Force was unable to shoot down any Russian ballistic missiles during the overnight attack on July 6 because it lacks enough interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems. In total, Russia launched 419 aerial weapons in a massive combined attack, with Kyiv as the main target.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that its air defenses intercepted or neutralized 363 of the incoming targets. Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat later said on the national telethon that the failure to intercept the ballistic missiles was due to a shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, Ukraine destroyed 37 missiles and 326 Russian drones of various types, with electronic warfare systems also used to disrupt some of the incoming aerial threats.

Overall, the Ukrainian troops detected the launch of 68 missiles and 351 attack drones, including Shahed/Geran, Gerbera, Italmas, and Parodiya decoy drones. Russian forces launched the attack from multiple directions, including Russia’s Bryansk, Kursk, Oryol, and Vologda regions, the city of Novorossiysk, as well as the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

The missile salvo consisted of six 3M22 Zircon/Onyx missiles, 23 Iskander-M ballistic missiles and S-400 surface-to-air missiles used in a ground-attack role, 33 Kh-101 cruise missiles, and six Kalibr cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defenses shot down 31 Kh-101 cruise missiles and all six Kalibr cruise missiles launched during the attack. As of the morning, officials had confirmed that 29 ballistic and anti-ship missiles, along with 18 attack drones, struck targets at 34 locations across Ukraine.

Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat confirmed that a critical shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles affected Ukraine’s ability to defend against the attack, preventing the Air Force from intercepting the incoming ballistic missiles.

According to Ihnat, the Russian military is deliberately exploiting Ukraine’s shortage of Patriot interceptor missiles by relying heavily on ballistic weapons, which are far more difficult to intercept than cruise missiles or drones.

Ihnat said the shortage of Patriot interceptors is not limited to Ukraine but is a global issue. He noted that Ukraine’s air defenses achieved an almost 100% interception rate against the cruise missiles launched during the overnight attack, while the results against ballistic missiles were significantly worse.

The severe shortage of air defense interceptors also drew a response from Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov. He said Ukraine has already signed, and is continuing to sign, contracts to purchase additional interceptor missiles for its Patriot air defense systems.

However, Fedorov said deliveries under those contracts will not begin until next year. In the meantime, Ukraine has appealed to its international partners to urgently transfer Patriot interceptor missiles from their existing stockpiles.

Ukraine has offered to replenish those countries’ stocks later using missiles delivered under its future procurement contracts.