Ukraine's air defense situation got worse in October amid intensified waves of Russian missiles and drone attacks, which Kyiv struggled to contain, according to an expert assessment released on Monday.
"Russia is increasingly successful in circumventing Ukrainian air defenses and damaging critical infrastructure," wrote the German monthly report Monitor Luftkrieg Ukraine (Monitor Air War Ukraine), published by the European Exchange and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.
In particular, the use of ballistic missiles more than doubled to 108 compared with September, while the interception rate is only about 15%, according to Ukrainian data.
An average of 170 Russian drones were deployed nightly last month against targets in Ukraine, the report said.
Totalling 5,298 long-range drones, according to Ukrainian figures, the number was around 6% less than in September.
In July, the highest number to date was reached with just under 6,300 drones launched against Ukraine. The report speculated that this is due to Russia failing to meet its production targets.
According to the figures, 1,077 drones were not intercepted last month, which decreased the interception rate to 80% instead of almost 100% at the start of the year.
In total, over 1,200 devices, including missiles, could not be intercepted in October. In February, this figure was only 145.
In the case of Iskander ballistic missiles alone, over 34 tons of explosives were not intercepted.
Together with drones, cruise missiles and hypersonic missiles, almost 97 tons of explosive charges fell on targets in the Ukrainian hinterland.
"The amount of unexploded ordnance has doubled within a month and is increasingly overwhelming Ukrainian air defenses," the report warned.
The Ukrainian air defenses must receive greater support, it stressed, also in view of increasing Russian domestic orders for cruise missiles and ballistic missiles despite higher costs.
The attacks were directed in particular against Ukrainian energy facilities such as power plants, substations and gas storage facilities.
According to information from Kiev, more than 60% of natural gas production was destroyed in October.
Many regions of the country are suffering from ongoing power outages.
Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for more than three and a half years with extensive Western support. Since then, modern air defense systems have been supplied to the country, primarily from Germany.
