(KYIV) – Russian forces are striking Ukrainian cities with repurposed S-400 surface-to-air missiles that arrive within minutes and often before air raid sirens can sound, as dwindling air defence supplies leave urban centres increasingly exposed, according to reporting by DW News published on 15th August 2026.
The shift marks a significant change in the nature of attacks on the Ukrainian capital. Previously, residents of Kyiv received warnings in the evening that Russian aircraft were airborne and a difficult night lay ahead. Now, missiles strike first, seemingly out of nowhere, before the alert system catches up.
“In Kyiv, it’s increasingly feeling like being in Kharkiv, somewhere much closer to the Russian border or the front lines,” said Nick Connolly, DW’s Ukraine correspondent, speaking from Kyiv. “In recent weeks and months, we’ve been having the same thing here in Kyiv, which has really been unsettling people.”
Connolly described how the comparative normality that had existed in Kyiv, a city several hundred kilometres from the nearest frontline positions, is eroding. “That kind of sense of security is really changing and there’s a sense that the front lines are kind of slightly paralysed right now. The focus of this war is really now moving behind the front lines to the cities.”
The new threat stems from two factors. The first is the repurposing of S-400 air defence missiles for ground attack roles. Russia is using these systems from approximately 200 kilometres from the centre of Kyiv, as the crow flies, meaning missiles arrive within minutes. They fly very low, making them difficult to detect.
The S-400 is a surface-to-air missile system designed to shoot down aircraft and other missiles rather than hit ground targets. It lacks the power to destroy large reinforced structures such as military bunkers, but it is fast and stealthy. For targeting civilian infrastructure such as power plants, precision matters more than payload size.
Cost is also a factor. “I think it’s about the money. It’s about the maths. This is the cheapest way to create the biggest damage and to create the biggest sense of unease and tension amongst the population here in places like Kyiv,” Connolly said. “If you can do that for $200,000 to $300,000 a pop, that is a very good price, as cynical as that sounds.”
Russia’s previous approach relied on its substantial oil and gas income, allowing its generals to fight as they wished without excessive concern for cost. That has changed as resources tighten. “Now those resources are tighter, they’re having to be a bit more inventive,” Connolly said.
He noted that the pattern of adaptation mirrors the wider war. “You see Ukraine doing something and the Russians copying it, vice versa. The Ukrainians were the first to get big into FPV drones, first person view drones. The Russians were sceptical for a long time, stayed with their artillery first approach. Then they started copying it.”
The second factor is Ukraine’s dwindling supply of air defence interceptor missiles. Deliveries from allies have fallen to just one third of what they were in 2025. During earlier phases of the war, Ukraine could shoot down if not 90 percent of cruise missiles, at least half and sometimes two thirds of ballistic missiles using Patriot interceptors.
“That is no longer the case. The stocks are very, very low,” Connolly said. “We don’t believe that they’re zero, but Ukraine is having to be very, very measured and consider what it needs to keep back supply for.”
The consequence has been attacks in which not a single ballistic missile has been intercepted. “It’s scary hearing those ballistic missiles coming crashing in, but before people could hear the outgoing interceptors, there was a sense of there was a chance that something would be stopped. And now just hearing them crashing in with no counter measures is really, really scary for people here.”
Some ballistic attacks now occur in the middle of the day. This has had an enormous impact on Ukrainian cities, where approximately 75 percent of the population lives. Attacks with significant casualties in double figures have become routine.
The use of double tap strikes has added to the horror. These involve striking a target and then striking again once rescuers arrive, a tactic considered a violation of international law. “There’ll be an attack and then 15, 20, 30 minutes later, once the first aid, ambulances, other emergency services are on the ground, repeated attacks. So doctors losing their lives, emergency service personnel losing their lives. That is all pretty new,” Connolly said.
The frequency of attacks has also changed. Previously, Russia needed to accumulate large numbers of missiles for an assault every 10 days, two weeks or three weeks to have any chance of penetrating air defences. Now, the lack of Ukrainian air defences means Russia can send a few missiles every couple of nights.
“There’s no real chance for people to relax and to recover from the stress and the sleeplessness,” Connolly said. “I think that really is noticeable in terms of people’s sense of morale and ability just to deal with everything, the cumulative stress of all the years of war, but also now having to deal with this every couple of days rather than every couple of weeks.”
The Ukrainian government has been pressing allies for more air defence systems. “The only strong response, the only fair one that achieves its goals and helps people is additional support for us in Ukraine, for our people and for our country,” a Ukrainian official said. “There are missiles for the Patriot system available around the world. And it’s important that our partners make this political decision, the decision to provide the necessary packages. The United States of America knows what we need. Europe knows what we need. Anti-ballistic missiles are meant to protect people.”
However, military experts caution that even significantly increased interceptor supplies would not solve the problem. “There is not a hope in hell, even if we do get more Patriot interceptors to take every S-400 missile out of the sky that’s being thrown at us. Russia produces too many of them. It is just not realistic,” Connolly reported.
Recently, Ukraine’s 15th Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade posted a video that claims to show the destruction of a command vehicle for a Russian air defence system using a drone. The footage was released by the brigade’s press service.
But military analysts say a real impact on Russia’s ability to strike Ukrainian cities with S-400s requires heavier firepower. “The only way to deal with this is to attack the launchers that are basically sometimes within about 30 kilometres of the Russian border with Ukraine, northeast of Kyiv,” Connolly said. “For that Ukraine needs more systems, more longer range attack missiles for instance, more intel.”
Current intelligence often only indicates that a missile has been launched, without providing sufficient detail to target the launcher before it fires. Analysts also suggest more attacks on Russian weapons production facilities. Ukraine has already struck factories between 500 and 2,000 kilometres from its borders, making it more difficult for Russia to produce weapons.
“That’s one source of hope for Ukraine, that it’s been able to strike deeper into Russian territory than at any previous point of the war,” Connolly said. Kyiv is pursuing both the destruction of military capabilities and a tit-for-tat strategy to wear down Russian morale as the fifth summer of the war comes to an end.
The report was published by DW News from Berlin.
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