YEKATERINBURG (dpa-AFX) – According to Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Russia has doubled the production of missiles for its anti-aircraft systems. According to his ministry, Shoigu said this on Tuesday during an inspection of arms factories in the city of Yekaterinburg in the Urals. The production of launch pads for the S-300 and Buk anti-aircraft systems has also been increased. They should be put into service in 2024. The minister did not give exact production figures.
The Russian air defense system has recently shown weaknesses in operations against incoming Ukrainian drones. Drone hits damaged a liquid gas terminal on the Baltic Sea and an oil refinery on the Black Sea.
According to the Interfax agency, Shoigu also inspected the production of two weapons systems against which Ukraine could hardly defend itself. These are the Iskander surface-to-surface missiles and the Kalibr ship-launched cruise missiles. The Iskanders in particular, which strike with practically no warning, have inflicted heavy losses on Ukraine on several occasions. In October 2023, a hit on a village in the Kharkiv region killed more than 50 people at a funeral ceremony.
Ukraine has been resisting a large-scale Russian invasion for almost two years./fko/DP/jha