The China Mail - Russia fired record number of missiles at Ukraine in July: AFP analysis

Both sides have escalated long-range attacks as the war drags through its fifth year, with no signs of stopping and with gains on the front line coming only at huge human cost.

Russia renewed its strikes on Kyiv Saturday, killing at least nine people, according to officials.

Daily reports published by Kyiv's air force showed Russia launched 376 missiles at Ukraine during the month -- more than twice the number fired in June.

Many of the attacks over the month targeted the capital Kyiv, which saw some of its deadliest strikes since the beginning of the war, with at least 30 killed on the night of July 2 alone.

Russia also fired 4,956 long-range drones at Ukraine during the month -- down 14 percent on June.

Kyiv can intercept the vast majority of drones, but still relies on supplies from allies to counter missiles.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Ukraine faces critical shortages of air defences needed to counter missile attacks, particularly Russia's increasing use of ballistic missiles.

The ultra-fast missiles travel on a high arcing trajectory before crashing down into their target.

They are hard to stop and often hit with just a few minutes' -- if any -- warning from air raid sirens.

Russia has ramped up their use from an estimated 200-300 in the whole of 2024, according to military analysts, to 126 in July 2026 alone.

Ukraine downed under a third of them, according to the AFP tally of official data.

Zelensky travelled to the White House in late July to press for the supply of US-made Patriot interceptors, one of the only means of reliably shooting down Russia's ballistic missiles.

Trump had initially said he would allow Ukraine to produce Patriot interceptors.

But he has since expressed reservations about the plan, saying Friday that Washington had to be "very careful" about the decision.

W.Cheng--ThChM