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Volodymyr Zelenskyy reports successful strike on Russian Iskander missile launcher to offset interceptor shortages

Ukraine has launched a new operation to target Russian ballistic missile launchers near its borders, a tactic used to counter a shortage of interceptor missiles. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian forces successfully struck an Iskander ballistic missile launcher, a mobile system that is difficult to target because it can rapidly move into position and fire. This strategy is necessary because Ukraine's stocks of Patriot interceptor missiles are currently under severe pressure. To address this, the administration of the Ukrainian military is pursuing three tracks of defense: the pan-European Freyja shield project, the production of a Ukrainian-made Patriot analogue, and securing additional supplies from the United States. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that Russia currently has 600–630 ballistic missiles in stock and aims to produce 100 per month. Ukraine is seeking to secure 5–10% of U.S. stocks to survive the winter, and the administration is prepared to pay for these supplies. Germany has also agreed to provide 600 PAC-2 missiles for the Patriot systems by 2027–2028.

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