Russia’s War in Ukraine

Understanding the conflict four years on.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the fallout of Ukraine’s missile defense shortage, a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and how SpaceX debris crashed into the moon.

Kyiv’s Diminishing Arsenal

Russian forces launched an onslaught of missiles and drones at Kyiv and its surrounding area on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, injuring around 44 others, and damaging key infrastructure for major retailers. Although Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept nearly 90 percent of the 115 incoming drones, they failed to down a single one of the 24 ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles.

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at the fallout of Ukraine’s missile defense shortage, a possible deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and how SpaceX debris crashed into the moon.

Kyiv’s Diminishing Arsenal

Russian forces launched an onslaught of missiles and drones at Kyiv and its surrounding area on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people, injuring around 44 others, and damaging key infrastructure for major retailers. Although Ukrainian air defenses managed to intercept nearly 90 percent of the 115 incoming drones, they failed to down a single one of the 24 ballistic missiles and four cruise missiles.

“Ballistic missile interceptors could have saved the lives of those killed today,” Ukrainian ​President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote on X. “It is very important that our partners understand that delays in supplying them, or an unwillingness to provide anti-ballistic systems, lead directly to such horrific casualties and destruction.”

For months, Zelensky has warned of Ukraine’s shortage of U.S. Patriot missiles, which are the only weapons in Kyiv’s inventory that can reliably intercept Russian ballistic missiles. With the onset of the Iran war in February, the United States has stopped providing Ukraine with these essential weapons, instead keeping the highly sought after resource for its own use.

But now, even the United States may be running out. Last week, a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that........

© Foreign Policy