(KYIV, UKRAINE) – Ukraine has been left highly vulnerable to ballistic missile strikes as both sides exchanged massive blows this week, with Kyiv’s forces hitting strategic targets deep inside Russian territory while Moscow pummelled Ukrainian cities with barrages that air defences struggled to intercept.
In a week of spectacular Ukrainian long range strikes, at least three Russian oil refineries, five Wildberries logistics plants, and the Engels 2 strategic air base were hit. The air base in Saratov, home to Russia’s nuclear capable TU-160 and TU-95 long range bombers, was struck overnight on one of the same nights the refineries were targeted.
The Rosneft refinery in Saratov, some 400 miles inside Russian territory and with a capacity to refine 4.8 million tons of crude oil per year, was hit overnight on 1-2 August. On the nights of 5 and 6 August, the Slavneft Yanos refinery in Yaroslavl, about 500 miles inside Russia with a capacity of approximately 15 million tons per year, was struck on two consecutive nights. A smaller Bashneft plant in Ufa, Bashkortostan, was also hit, a staggering 850 miles inside Russian territory.
This is part of Ukraine’s campaign to degrade the Kremlin’s income, the money the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin needs to fuel his war. The same week saw strikes on Wildberries logistics warehouses in Samara, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Aleksin, and Yekaterinburg, the latter being a thousand miles from the closest Ukrainian held territory. More than 20 Wildberries sites have now been struck. President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated these sites are dual use, supporting the Russian war effort by supplying military equipment, including drone components.
In Russia, two bomb attacks targeted high profile figures. On the evening of 1 August, a bomb exploded outside a restaurant in Moscow where the commander of Russia’s aerospace forces, Alexander Chaiko, was celebrating his birthday. Russian officials said five people were killed and more than 20 injured. Major General Valeriy Platonuk, deputy commander of the 49th Army, was killed, and Chaiko’s son in law Danil Peredri was also named among the dead. Chaiko survived. On 5 August, a car bomb targeted Vladimir Tkachuk, the head of Russian drone maker Ural Dron Zavod, which manufactures the widely used “Ghoul” FPV drone. Tkachuk survived in a critical condition, but his bodyguard and driver was killed.
Russia’s response has been devastating. Over the course of the week, 1,066 missiles and drones were fired at targets across Ukraine. The strikes have been unusually lethal, possibly due to a high ratio of ballistic and hypersonic missiles, which Ukraine finds most difficult to intercept. A massive overnight strike left 17 people dead and at least 44 injured, with President Zelensky stating that none of the ballistic missiles fired in that blitz were shot down. A subsequent wave killed nine people and injured at least 89, with much of that focused on Dnipro in central Ukraine.
“Ukraine has been left naked to ballistic missiles,” an assessment confirmed by figures showing that throughout July, Russia fired 195 ballistic missiles, of which Ukraine shot down just 29. Zelensky has signalled a change of tactics, stating that destroying Russia’s ballistic missile launching capability is now Ukraine’s number one target. He has appealed to allies for more Patriot batteries, specifically asking President Donald Trump for a licence to manufacture the missiles. Trump has backed away from this commitment, stating, “We need missiles. America needs missiles,” a need made acute by his own war on Iran which has depleted American stocks.
The UK’s new Defence Secretary, Wes Streeting, stated during a visit to Kyiv that where the UK lacks systems like Patriots, he will be contacting other allies. There are 15 nations other than the United States that use Patriot missile defences. Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has also promised to help following a meeting with Zelensky.
In the close battle, Russia continues to grind forward, capturing approximately 270 square kilometres over the course of July, a significant increase on June. The town of Huliaipole is under threat, and soldiers in Kramatorsk report the city is constantly under drone attack. Russia has also claimed that a North Korean ballistic missile battery is deploying to western Russia with around 120 missiles and six launchers.
Horrific footage released by Ukrainian police shows a brazen Russian war crime in the southern city of Kherson. An FPV drone stalked a 52 year old civilian fruit and vegetable seller as he clasped his hands in prayer and begged for mercy, side stepping around his vehicle before the drone dive bombed and exploded. The man survived. The attack is part of what has been termed “human safaris,” where Russian drone pilots deliberately hunt civilians.
In Germany, police revealed they found an explosive laden drone next to the runway at Leipzig Halle airport, and a DHL cargo plane reported a mid air collision believed to be with another drone. The area is used by Ukrainian Antonov aircraft. German officials described it as a sophisticated hybrid attack, and while they have not named a culprit, Moscow is the prime suspect, fitting a pattern of targeting logistics infrastructure in Poland, Germany, and the United Kingdom.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that US intelligence sees the prospect of a small Russian incursion into NATO territory as more likely in the next few years. UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Russia provokes the UK every single day, including aircraft buzzing NATO airspace, submarines lurking over undersea cables, and approximately 90,000 cyber attacks per year.
(The information in this report includes material from the BBC and The Sun. Footage of the Kherson drone attack was released by the Ukrainian police.)
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