Russia may soon run out of missiles, Ukraine defense min. claims

Russia's military doesn't have much advanced munitions left and is using less missiles in its attacks, the Ukrainian MOD claimed.

 A view shows a house destroyed by a Russian missile strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released December 29, 2022.  (photo credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
A view shows a house destroyed by a Russian missile strike, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, in Kyiv, Ukraine, in this handout picture released December 29, 2022.
(photo credit: STATE EMERGENCY SERVICES/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

Russia is launching fewer missiles per attack and is increasing the intervals between attacks, a representative of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claimed in a statement on Thursday.

The Russian military had used "everything that can move," and now has fallen back on Iranian "Shahed" drones and missiles originally meant for air defense like the S-300 missile systems, Defense Ministry Spokesman Andriy Yusov said.

"We can see that despite the massive missile attack, the infrastructure of Ukraine has withstood and will certainly endure. The enemy's missile potential is decreasing. They cannot maintain such a high intensity both in terms of regularity and in terms of quantity," he added.

Missile attacks targeting infrastructure

The comments were published on the same day a massive attack of 120 missiles further damaged Ukraine's energy grid as well as numerous civilian buildings.

However, claims that Russia is running low on munitions have been made throughout the over 10-month long war. Already in May, a representative of Ukraine's Intelligence Directorate claimed that Russia had severely depleted its missile stocks. 

A part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian military authorities described as an Iranian made suicide drone Shahed-136 and which was shot down near the town of Kupiansk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, is seen in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 13, 2022 (credit: MIL.GOV.UA/CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
A part of an unmanned aerial vehicle, what Ukrainian military authorities described as an Iranian made suicide drone Shahed-136 and which was shot down near the town of Kupiansk, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, is seen in Kharkiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 13, 2022 (credit: MIL.GOV.UA/CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)/VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)

Reports have persisted throughout the war that Russia's defense industry has been unable to produce many of its more advanced munitions because of the rising prices of raw materials and limitations on foreign electronics caused by Western sanctions. 

Michael Starr contributed to this story.