Ukrainians anger Putin by learning to shoot down Russian missiles and drones

On December 30th the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces released its daily battlefield update, noting that their soldiers had shot down a significant number of Russian missiles and drones. 

Ukrainian forces were able to shoot down 58 cruise missiles as well as 23 unmanned aerial vehicles in a 24-hour period according to the General Staff. 

December was a difficult month for Ukraine as the country saw several major missile and drone attacks that not only damaged key infrastructure but also killed nearly a dozen civilians. 

On December 16th a fresh barrage of missiles knocked out power in Ukraine and put the whole country under air raid alarm according to CNN journalists Olga Voitovych and Eliza Mackintosh. 

“They have set a goal to leave Ukrainians without light, water, and heat,” Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said during a government meeting at the time. 

But Shmyhal also said something interesting, pointing out that Ukrainian air defense forces had shot down 60 of the 76 missiles fired at the country—a figure that has revealed a big change in the war.  

Whether it be with German-supplied Flakpanzer Gepards or with man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), Ukraine has gotten very good at thwarting Russia’s air campaign.

Back in October of 2022 Russia’s military strategists switched tactics and began targeting Ukraine’s critical infrastructure as a way to weaken morale and collapse the country’s will to fight. 

Russia’s escalation initially worked well. One attack on October 10 involved 80 missiles and at least 24 Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones which killed 19 Ukrainians and wounded at least 100 more according to the Atlantic Council. 

By November, New York Times journalist James McKinley was writing that "nearly half of Ukraine’s energy grid has been knocked out by recent Russian missile strikes.” 

Today Ukraine’s energy grid remains fragile but it is still operating and still providing power to citizens because of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ ability to shoot down Russian missiles. 

Part of the reason why Ukraine has become so successful at shooting down Russian missiles is because of the equipment it has received from its Western allies. 

In early November, according to CBS News, Ukraine acquired its first shipments of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems as well as its first Aspide Air Defense Systems.

"The NASAMS systems had a 100 percent success rate in intercepting Russian missiles as the Kremlin continues its ruthless bombardment of Ukraine," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a November 16th briefing with journalists. 

But it isn’t just expensive equipment that has made a difference. Igla-S MANPADS have proven to be very adept at intercepting incoming Russian missiles. 

During the December 29th attack, at least one MANPAD was filmed shooting down a low-flying Kh-101 cruise missile according to Tanmay Kadam of the Eurasian Times. 

“The missile was detected visually by a group of Ukrainian air defense personnel deployed in the zone of the flight of the missile, following which one of them fired on the missile from Igla MANPADS.” wrote Kadam. 

This wasn’t the first time a cruise missile had been shot down by a Ukrainian soldier armed with a MANPAD. In October, Dmytro Shumskyi was credited with downing two Russian missiles in Chernihiv with an FIM-92 Stinger. 

All of this leaves one wondering how Vladimir Putin must feel knowing that his current plans to force Kyiv to the negotiating table are failing, just as the first group of Ukrainian troops are finishing their training on the vaunted American Patriot missile battery system.