Defense Intelligence refuted claims about Russia increasing its missile production: They lack even shells

Author

Olga Krotovska

Russia is already short of not only missiles but ammunition for artillery and MLRSs. The Russians cannot substantially replenish the stocks on their own, so they are actively requesting aid from other countries, said Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, in an interview with liga.net.

How many missiles does Russia still have, and can it replenish its stock?

The stock of Russian missiles is steadily running out. There were claims on the Internet recently that Russia had obtained an opportunity to build up missile production, and in particular, to increase the output of Kh-101 missiles ninefold to produce 467 of them annually. Budanov refuted these claims and suggested the people who gave those numbers should be asked about their sources.

"I remember that they aspire to produce 20 sea-based Kalibr missiles per month. You can now count how long it will take for them to ensure a single barrage. Sure, a barrage also includes Kh-101 and Kh-555, besides Kalibr missiles. However, I’ve given you the statistics, so you can count now. They have almost ceased production of Iskander missiles," he explained.

Russia also experiences problems with the production of Kinzhal missiles. They lack parts, which cannot be imported into Russia because of sanctions. The chief of defense intelligence admits that Russia employs so-called parallel importation schemes; however, the process thus becomes longer and more complicated.

"At the beginning of the war, there were only 47 of them (Kinzhal missiles — ), as far as I remember. They've been able to make a few more since then while they still had parts. However, it’s not serious. You can intimidate the world by saying you have Kinzhal missiles. However, as you start using them, what comes next? You can make 47 strikes. To make it clear, the number of Iskander missiles used is over 900. What difference would 47 make?" Budanov emphasized.

He also noted that the Russian army is also extremely short of artillery shells, high-explosive fragmentation tank shells, and ammunition for the Grad and Uragan multiple-launch rocket systems.

Will Iran and China help Russia?

Budanov stressed that, in addition to Shahed-136 and Shahed-131 kamikaze drones, Iran provided Russia with Mohajer-6 armed UAVs, which are similar to the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2. However, Moscow still hasn’t received a single missile from Tehran.

"Whether they will go further [to providing missiles] is an open question. Everybody is working to prevent it. Iran itself also understood that if it handed them over to Russia like that, the world wouldn’t tolerate it. Even that part of the world with which they used to have normal relations," he said.

Budanov estimates that China is unlikely to be going to help Russia.

Context. David Barnea, head of Israel's National Intelligence Agency Mossad, said last week that Iran not only didn’t mean to stop supporting Russia’s military ambitions but instead was planning to expand the supply of advanced weapons to the aggressor.