Strana 24
AIR WAR IN UKRAINE
Ukraine‘s Problems
A problem for Ukraine‘s air defense is that
its supplies of missiles for Patriot systems are
running low; these are the only systems capable of
intercepting Russian ballistic missiles. While Ukraine
received 675 Patriot missiles in 2023, that number
had fallen to 364 in 2025, and this year it amounts to
264 missiles. As a result, Ukrainian air defenses often
have nothing with which to engage incoming targets.
This is also why Ukraine stopped publishing figures for
the number of Russian ballistic missiles launched and
intercepted during the period under review.
Another problem is that the proportion of newer
versions of Shahed/Geran drones with jet propulsion
and higher performance among the attacking Russian
drones is increasing. To shoot them down, Ukraine
has to use fighter aircraft with air-to-air missiles to
a greater extent, and those stocks are also running
low.
The Russians are aware of this, and at the end of
the period under review they launched a new type of
attack intended to exhaust Ukrainian defenses and
break the civilian population. Instead of carrying out
large, concentrated attacks on Kyiv as they had done
previously, they began attacking in small waves with
short intervals between them. In the Ukrainian capital,
air-raid sirens were therefore sounding practically
continuously during the final days of the period under
review, paralyzing normal life and all business activity.
During this series of attacks, one of the most tragic
events in a long time occurred on Saturday, August 29.
A Russian drone struck a warehouse in a residential
area in the village of Myla in the Bucha district near
Kyiv. The warehouse contained a large amount
of ammunition, and secondary explosions turned
a wide surrounding area into a scorched wasteland.
The ammunition explosions damaged or destroyed
300 buildings, including apartment blocks and more
than 200 family homes. Thirty-eight people were
killed, including residents of a nursing home, which
was also destroyed. Another 52 people were injured.
The ammunition warehouse was not protected in
any way. This is an outrageous case of negligence,
made all the more shocking by the fact that similar
incidents had occurred the previous month and
nobody had learned from them. Ukrainian authorities
launched an investigation and called on private arms
companies to immediately inspect their storage
facilities and secure them if necessary.
Refineries and Warehouses
During the period under review, Ukraine continued
to focus primarily on attacks against Russian
refineries and logistics centers. On the average, the
refineries were attacked every other day. There
is a little point in listing them all here, as most had
already been hit repeatedly in previous months. The
most distant one was located in Omsk, approximately
2,500 km from the Ukrainian border. These attacks
succeeded in taking more than 30 percent of Russia‘s
refining capacity offline, thereby depriving Moscow
of $15 billion that it could otherwise have used to
finance the war. Another consequence is that, due to
fuel shortages, Russia now has to import gasoline, for
example from India and Kazakhstan.
After roughly a month of attacks, a summary of the
consequences for the Russian company Wildberries
also emerged. At least 22 warehouses were hit,
19 of which burned down completely. The value of
the destroyed goods is estimated at $5–6 billion.
In addition to Wildberries, Ukrainian drones also
began attacking the logistics warehouses of Ozon,
the second-largest online retailer. In both cases, the
attacks are aimed at destroying dual-use goods as
well as delivering a significant blow to the Russian
economy.
Among the other targets, the fight against Russian
logistics should be mentioned, with a record 14,000
trucks and tankers destroyed in a single month.
Ukrainian drones are also systematically attacking
energy infrastructure in occupied Crimea. The aim is
to cut off electricity supplies to stationary radars and
other military facilities located there.
An exceptional attack took place in Novorossiysk
on Wednesday, August 12, using naval drones, jet-
powered aerial drones, and cruise missiles. Port
infrastructure, air-defense positions, and at least
four warships, including two frigates, were damaged.
But the biggest blow for Russia was the shutdown of
operations at two grain terminals and the Sheskharis
oil terminal, which were also hit. Russian exports
through Novorossiysk were therefore suspended
indefinitely. The Ukrainians thus did the same thing
to Novorossiysk that the Russians did to Odesa. Since
both countries are major exporters of grain to the
world, there is a risk of rising food prices in countries
dependent on imports. Several countries therefore
began calling for the restoration of the Black Sea
Grain Deal, which the Kremlin has so far rejected.
It should be mentioned that during mass Ukrainian
attacks, civilians are sometimes killed in Russia as
well. At the seaside resort of Gelendzhik in Krasnodar
Krai, on Monday, August 3, a Ukrainian drone fell onto
a beach full of people after being hit by Russian air
defenses. According to various sources, between
three and six people were killed and others were
injured. The incident was captured on video, which
shows the drone falling on its wing, indicating that
it had apparently already been disabled and was no
longer under control.
Attacks on Russian Airfields
In addition to the targets mentioned above, Ukraine
continued its campaign against Russian military
airfields. In fact, almost all Russian aviation losses
during the period under review occurred during these
attacks. There were no losses in the air during combat
missions; one occurred in an accident.
During the night of Wednesday, August 5, a Yak-40
aircraft was reportedly hit at the airfield in Belgorod.
Ukrainian drones also attacked the Akhtubinsk
airbase in Russia‘s Astrakhan Oblast on Thursday,
August 20. Satellite imagery confirmed that a Su-34
fighter-bomber belonging to the 929th State Flight
Test Center was damaged. The aircraft had not yet
been camouflaged and was still in its basic factory
paint.
Burning Russian refineries
Russian logistics warehouses after a “visit” by Ukrainian drones.
INFO Eduard24
October 2026