Russia has used 70% of its high-precision missiles. The latest massive attack on Ukraine cost the aggressor more than $1 billion

Author

Vladimir Khomyakov

On October 15, Russia launched another massive attack on Ukrainian cities. In total, the aggressor fired 90 missiles, which, according to some sources, is more than on the first day of the large-scale invasion.

According to the Air Force Command, 70 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles were fired from Tu-95 strategic bombers from the northern part of the Caspian Sea and from Volgodonsk, Rostov Region. Another 20 Kalibr missiles were launched from carrier ships in the Black Sea. According to preliminary data, air defense forces destroyed 73 enemy cruise missiles, while another 15 hit residential buildings and infrastructure facilities in many cities in Ukraine. Casualties were reported. According to preliminary data, two Kh-101 missiles crashed in Poland, a few kilometers from the Ukrainian border, killing two people.

How many missiles does Russia still have?

According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, on October 14, Russia had 272 Kalibr missiles (the main type of missiles fired from the Black Sea), 213 Kh-101/Kh-555 air-to-surface missiles, and 124 Iskander short-range ballistic missiles. By November 15, Russia had used at least four Kalibrs, three Iskanders, and 13 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles.

Taking into account the missiles used on November 15, Russia

still keeps 539 missiles, including:

up to 121 Iskander missiles;

up to 248 Kalibr missiles;

up to 170 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles.

Hence, since the invasion, Russia has spent a total of 1305 missiles (70%) out of the 1,844 it had by February 24, 2022. The 539 remaining missiles will be enough for five or six strikes similar to those of November 15.

How much did the missile strikes on Ukraine cost, and what can they be compared with?

$1,040,000,000

the total cost of the 90 missiles fired at Ukraine on November 15

$7,537,000,000

Russia spent for the 1,305 missiles fired at Ukraine since February 24

1,300 missiles is 4 times more

than NATO forces fired at Yugoslavia’s military targets in 1999 during Operation Allied Force

and only 2.5 times less

than one of the most massive missile attacks launched by Germany against Great Britain in 1944–1945, when it fired 3,225 V-2 missiles.

What other missiles does Russia have?

Iskander, Kalibr, and Kh-101/Kh-555 are not the only missiles in Russia’s arsenal. However, the rest are either sparse (Kinzhal, Oniks), not high-precision (Kh-22, Kh-55), or of limited use because of their short range (Tochka U, Kh-59).

Speaking of high-precision missiles, there are around 539 of them left in Russia. They would be enough for five or six massive strikes. In fact, there will be much more missile attacks, since Russia has been launching 20–50 high-precision missiles at a time recently, while increasing the total number of launches by using non-precision missiles, short-range missiles, or even reconfigured S-300 surface-to-air missiles, with which they hit cities close to the frontline (the range of such "reworked" missiles does not exceed 50–60 km).

The quantity of ammunition is another question. Speaking about the reworked S-300 systems, the exact number of these munitions is unknown, but there may be thousands. The number of the limited-range Tochka U and Kh-59 missiles is not more than 1,000 of each type (actually less). The number of Oniks missiles is approximately 400. The Kinzhal missiles are more of a display weapon because only a small number of them have been made.

According to various estimates, Russia cannot quickly replenish its fleet of missiles. Even in the days of the USSR, when hundreds of factories throughout the country worked in synergy, only a few hundred missiles were produced per year. The rate has probably decreased to a few dozen per year in contemporary Russia. In addition, given the complicated relations between the Russian Federation and almost all its neighbors, it needs a stockpile of missiles on all borders. Perhaps that is why the number of strikes using Iskanders fell sharply after there were fewer than 130 of these missiles left. That much should most likely be kept in the operational reserve. Meanwhile, three instances when the Iskanders were used between October 10 and November 15 were the result of the arrival of new missiles from factories.