Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a successful operation targeting Russian Iskander missile systems located near Ukraine’s borders. While he described this as a significant achievement for Ukraine, he noted that operational details cannot be disclosed due to the sensitivity of the mission.
Zelensky explained, “This is our operation to hunt their systems located nearby. It is one of the ways we minimize the threat from ballistic missiles; there is another more complex tactic we have developed, which focuses on hunting down their nearby launch points where ballistic missiles are fired from.”
He stated that this operation is separate and significant in its execution.
Earlier in August, during a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council, Zelensky mentioned the critical shortage of air defense missiles for intercepting ballistic threats. He highlighted that one of the main objectives for Ukrainian forces is to destroy enemy launch systems.
Context
- On July 30, following a combined attack by Russian forces, Zelensky indicated that there is a critical shortage of air defense missiles from allies, noting delays in their transfer.
- Previously, on July 6, the Ukrainian Air Force reported that they were unable to neutralize any ballistic missiles during a massive attack due to a lack of Patriot missiles. At that time, defense advisor Serhiy Beskrestnov confirmed a global shortage of Patriot missiles and stated that Ukraine was nearly devoid of means to intercept ballistic missiles.
- On August 12, Yuriy Ihnat, head of communications for the Air Force Command, informed that military leadership decided to limit public information regarding the number of ballistic missiles launched by Russia.
