Ukraine's limited strike arsenal challenges Russian defences
Although Ukraine received permission to attack targets in Russia with Western weapons after three years of war, it has too few of them. The impressive attacks exposed Russian air defence's weakness and attracted the global media's attention; however, according to an expert from the Centre for Eastern Studies, they did not allow for inflicting losses decisive during the war.
"The Ukrainians' capability for long-range strikes remains very limited," stated Jacek Tarociński, an analyst from the Centre for Eastern Studies (OSW), in an interview with PAP.
Although the agreement by the United States, followed by the United Kingdom and France, to use Western weapons to attack targets in Russia is an important change, Ukraine has too few strike resources.
Currently, Kyiv has at its disposal two types of Western weapons with ranges of 300 and - possibly - more kilometres.
Western long-range weapons in Ukraine
The first is ATACMS, which is a ballistic missile designed for HIMARS/MLRS launchers. Ukraine may have received several variants of ATACMS - missiles with a range from 160 to 300 kilometres. In the latter case, increased range was obtained by reducing the warhead's weight in favour of additional fuel.
The second type of Western long-range weapon is the Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG air-launched missile. Its range is up to 500 kilometres, but Ukraine may have received missiles with a reduced range of about 300 kilometres. These missiles have stealth characteristics and a warhead weighing 450 kilograms. From Ukraine's point of view, the problem is that they are air weapons—before launch, the aircraft must carry them into the air.
Jacek Tarociński also points out that Ukraine has limited stocks of Western missiles – just about 100 units. "These are not quantities that allow for inflicting strategic losses on Russia," the expert summarized.
