Raffe Sundberg

Last night, Ukraine was unable to shoot down any of the 28 missiles launched by Russia: 24 ballistic missiles and 4 hypersonic "Tsircon" missiles. Since last Saturday alone, over 50 ballistic missiles have been launched at Kyiv and nearby. Reports that the United States spent the bulk of its interceptor missile stocks in Iran appear to be accurate; the US is experiencing shortages and is now unable to supply them in the quantities Kyiv needs. It must be understood: there are no Patriot interceptor missiles available in the necessary quantities, and there will not be, given the scale of Russian and allied missile production and the intensity of the attacks. This raises monumental questions about how Ukraine will navigate through the winter season - if Ukrainian energy infrastructure remains defenseless and is destroyed, it will lead to a humanitarian catastrophe and a massive wave of migration into the EU. Currently, not only Ukraine but also Europe remains unprotected. Will Russia wait several years for the realization of the joint Ukrainian-European ballistic missile interceptor project "Freyja" without attacking Europe? It is best not to wait for an answer to this question, but to act preemptively. There are currently two obvious ways to eliminate the ballistic threat. 1. Strikes on enterprises involved in the supply chain of critical components - primarily solid-fuel rocket motors. A massive strike using drones and "Flamingo" missiles must be carried out against them to induce fires. This also includes continuing strikes against the assembly plant in Votkinsk, Udmurtia. One successful strike with a "Flamingo" missile was already carried out there in February of this year. This effort must be sustained with a coordinated barrage of both "Flamingo" missiles and drones. 2. Destruction of Russian launchers. This requires thorough daytime reconnaissance of storage sites for "Iskander" launchers in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, as well as their nighttime movement routes toward launch pads, the list of which is limited. To achieve this, close coordination with partner intelligence services regarding launch site data is essential. The US possesses reconnaissance satellites capable of tracking the nighttime movement of "Iskanders" to launch locations using infrared and radar sensors. If such information were provided and shared with Ukraine, it would be possible to attempt strikes on "Iskander" columns using Fire Point drones equipped with mesh networking, capable of maintaining stable communications at a depth of 150–200 km. The Russian ballistic threat poses a danger to all of Europe. Failing to counter it now, before winter arrives, could lead to irreversible consequences. 📷: Russian attacks last night