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Michael_Novakhov shared this story from  The Kyiv Independent.
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Ukraine has launched a new operation targeting Russian ballistic missile launchers near its borders, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 22, as Kyiv faces a shortage of missiles capable of intercepting ballistic weapons.
Zelensky said that Ukrainian military struck an Iskander ballistic missile launcher near Ukraine’s borders on Aug. 22, without providing further details.
The strike was part of a separate operation to hunt down Russian missile systems positioned near Ukraine, which Zelensky described as an alternative tactic amid the dire lack of of anti-ballistic missile interceptors.
The Iskander is Russia’s main surface to surface tactical ballistic missile system, with a stated range of around 500 kilometers.
Complemented with North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and advanced Zircon cruise missiles, the Iskander has been the workhorse of combined mass attacks again Ukrainian targets in recent months.
When attacking Kyiv and other targets inside Ukraine, Iskanders are launched from mobile erector-launcher systems inside Russian territory, usually in border regions like Bryansk or Kursk oblasts.
With Ukraine’s stocks of Patriot ballistic missile interceptor at or near empty, strikes against Iskander launchers have long been proposed as an alternative method of fighting the Iskander threat, but Ukraine has lacked options for quickly detecting and hitting launch sites.
“At one point (the Russians) were planning to launch an attack, but didn’t go through with it. This is no coincidence,” Zelensky told journalists.
“In other words, we’re working to prevent them from carrying out large-scale missile attacks. These are individual, complex operations, and we’re now starting to see the first results.”
Zelensky said Russia could potentially produce up to 1,300 ballistic missiles annually and currently has around 600–630 in stock. Moscow could eventually aim to produce around 100 ballistic missiles per month, he said, although it has not yet reached that rate.
Ukraine is also seeking more Patriot interceptors ahead of winter, Zelensky said, revealing that Ukraine had only received 264 missiles for the advanced surface-to-air system this year so far.
The Air Force has requested 360 missiles, up from an initial target of 300. According to the president, Kyiv hopes to secure 5–10% of U.S. stocks, with Ukraine prepared to pay for the missiles.
Zelensky also said Germany had agreed to provide 600 PAC-2 missiles for Patriot systems in 2027–2028, while negotiations with Washington over additional supplies continue.
Longer-term alternatives to the Patriot are also moving ahead, the president said, referring specifically to the Freyja project, a joint effort by European and Ukrainian defense companies to produce a new anti-ballistic missile system.
The project has moved from political discussions to the technical stage, with companies now beginning practical work, Zelensky said.