Russia fired more ballistic missiles at Ukraine in July than in any other month of 2026, around 126 of them, according to the monitoring project Oko Gora. The barrage mixed Iskander-M missiles, North Korean rounds, and air-defense missiles repurposed to hit ground targets. It climbed as Ukraine's shield against exactly these weapons kept thinning.
July outran every month this year
The climb is steep. Russia's monthly ballistic launches ran from 74 in January to 116 in February, then fell to 39 in March, 50 in April, 86 in May, and 96 in June, before last month topped them all, the project counted. The notable addition was the S-300 and S-400 air-defense missiles fired at ground targets alongside the Iskander-M and North Korean ballistic missiles.
The North Korean missile returned
One weapon stood out for its comeback. On 30 July, Russia used a North Korean KN-23 for the first time in a long while, striking the village of Radushne near Kryvyi Rih. The strike killed five members of one family, and the missile's reappearance suggested a fresh shipment from Pyongyang.
Interceptions returned, then collapsed
Around 14 July, Ukrainian air defenders resumed shooting down Russian ballistics, and on 9 July President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would soon receive a US batch of PAC-3 interceptors. By month's end the gains were gone. Ukraine's Air Force downed one missile out of 27 on 1 August, and one of nine on 30 July. As recently as June, Ukraine had stopped about four in ten ballistics, a rate that has since fallen toward zero as PAC-3 stocks run dry.
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