Ukraine's air defenses achieved an 89% interception rate in June, but only 40% against ballistic missiles. Ukraine's Defense Ministry reported that of 6,000 Russian attack drones and missiles launched in June, air defense intercepted 5,300.
Shahed-type drones (Shahed, Gerbera, Italmas) were intercepted at 90%, cruise missiles at 89.4%, and other missile types at 89.4%. Ballistic missiles remained the most difficult targets.
Russia sharply scaled up its ballistic missile use through 2026. Ukraine faced 28 monthly ballistic launches in January 2025. By January 2026, Russia set a monthly record of 91 ballistic missiles fired at Ukraine.
2 June and 15 June combined strikes tested the ballistic gap
Ukraine detailed two massive combined strikes in June. On the night of 2 June, Russia launched 8 Zircon anti-ship missiles, 33 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 32 Kh-101 and Kalibr cruise missiles, and over 650 attack drones. Ukraine intercepted 92% of drones and cruise missiles, but shot down only 11 of the 41 ballistic missiles (27%).
On the night of 15 June, Russia launched 6 Zircon anti-ship missiles, 34 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, 30 Kh-101/Iskander-K cruise missiles, and 611 attack drones. Ukraine's air defense intercepted about half of the ballistic missiles, 95% of the drones, and all the cruise missiles.
The 15 June attack killed 5 in Kyiv, injured 35, and struck 42 locations across the capital.
Ballistic gap has no quick fix
Only Patriot systems reliably intercept Russian ballistic missiles, and Patriot interceptors are scarce. Only five or six countries in the world build ballistic-missile interceptors, defense expert Marc DeVore told Euromaidan Press. Russia produces about 70 ballistic missiles per month, and each typically requires two to three Patriots to stop.
Ukraine's Freya anti-ballistic project aims to fill the gap with a Ukrainian-made interceptor at roughly $700,000 per shot, but the first ballistic intercept is not targeted until ethe nd of 2027, per Euromaidan Press. Ukraine also expects deliveries of SAMP-T from France under an agreement Zelenskyy signed with President Macron. Both Patriot and SAMP-T deliveries take time due to global production bottlenecks and long queues from other countries.
