Ukraine downs five Russian ballistic missiles as Kyiv aims to harden air defence

Ukrainian air defences intercepted five ballistic missiles launched by Russia in a raft of overnight attacks, Ukraine’s air force said, though other missiles and drones got through and hit the capital Kyiv.

It was the first time in almost two weeks that Ukraine claimed to have downed Russian ballistic missiles, which are harder to stop than drones or cruise missiles.

Ukrainian air defences likely used the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile system that is the most effective way of countering ballistic missiles, but ammunition for it has been in short supply amid the Iran war.

In Kyiv, the attack caused fires at two warehouses, while a school was also damaged, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that the attack targeted military manufacturing facilities in the Ukrainian capital that produce long-range missiles and drones.

Moscow wants to choke off Ukrainian strikes on oil facilities deep inside Russia that have caused critical fuel shortages, frustrating the public and, Western analysts say, hindering the Russian army’s advance on the front line inside Ukraine.

Ukraine’s air force said one ballistic missile and 25 drones struck 17 locations, while falling debris was reported in 10 locations.

Ukraine urgently needs to improve its air defence shield as another winter looms.

Much of the country is at the mercy of Russian missiles that, since Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of its neighbour, have hammered the power grid.

In an important step forward for Kyiv’s air defence effort, nine other countries joined Ukraine in a coalition announced on Monday to build a shared ballistic missile shield for Europe.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and its partners could, within the next 12 months, jointly develop a mass-produced, low-cost system.

Mr Zelensky was still in Paris on Tuesday where he attended France’s annual Bastille Day celebrations.

US President Donald Trump said at the Nato summit last week that the US will give Ukraine a licence to make Patriot systems itself. However, Patriots are expensive, in high demand and take a long time to produce, so it will be at least a few years before any Ukrainian-made systems are ready to deploy.

Ukraine, meanwhile, kept up its long-range onslaught on Russian targets, especially oil facilities.

In the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, the attack caused a fire at the Afipsky Oil Refinery that was later put out, local authorities said.

Unconfirmed media reports said an oil refinery in the city of Salavat in the Bashkortostan region, some 1,400km (900 miles) from the Ukrainian border, was also hit by the attack.

Bashkortostan head Radiy Khabirov confirmed an attack on an industrial area in Salavat, but did not specify what was hit.

The Russian Defence Ministry said its air defences overnight intercepted 288 Ukrainian drones over multiple Russian regions, as well as the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula and the Azov and Black seas.