Russia Uses Air Defense Systems To Attack Ground Targets In Ukraine, Running Out Of Ballistic Missiles?

Russian S-300 air defense system. (Wikimedia Commons/Vitaly V. Kuzmin)

JAKARTA - A spokesperson for the Ukrainian Air Force said on Monday that Russia's increased use of the S-300 and S-400 air defense systems to carry out strikes on ground targets indicates that Moscow's stockpile of ballistic missiles is near depletion.

The official, Yuriy Ihnat, quoted Ukrainian intelligence as claiming that Russia had less than 100 modern Iskander ballistic rounds remaining.

Instead, Russia is said to have opted for the S-300 and S-400 systems, having plenty of ammunition for those systems.

"The enemy is trying to use their potential, because there are a lot of S-300 missiles already produced, (Russia) is the maker of these missiles, and they are already using them in this way," he told a briefing in Kyiv via video link. .

Britain's Ministry of Defense said last month that Russia likely had exhausted most of its stockpile of the SS-26 Iskander short-range ballistic missile, which can carry a 500kg warhead up to 500 km (310 miles).

The Russian Defense Ministry has yet to comment on the claims, which cannot be independently verified.

Dwindling stockpiles could be a major problem for both sides, in a war that has raged for nearly 11 months and looks set to continue.

The S-300 system is part of a family of surface-to-air missiles originally developed by the Soviet Union. It was first put into service in the late 1970s after a decade of development.

Both of these systems are used by Ukraine and Russia, although the latter has more systems in its inventory. Moscow developed the S-400 system to replace the aging S-300 system in 2007.

Ihnat said Russian forces prefer to use the more numerous S-300s to attack ground targets, although the S-400 is also used in this way.

He said the S-300 could be used against ground targets up to 150 km away and presented a threat to Ukraine.

"The S-300 is a threat, and of course we are not going to have enough systems from the West to shoot down every S-300 in the air. We need to destroy them at the positions where they were fired," Ihnat said.