Remember when Moscow reportedly spent more than half a billion dollars on an airstrike against Ukraine?

In January 2024, Moscow launched a powerful air attack against targets in Ukraine. The attack was similar in scale to others that had occurred at the time, but initial data from the strike allowed reporters to calculate the cost of the attack to have been about half a billion dollars.

Preliminary data released by the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force after Russia’s massive assault on Ukraine during the night of January 2nd allowed Forbes journalists Yuriy Tarasovskyi and Konstantin Gnenny to estimate the approximate cost of the deadly attack. 

The Russian Armed Forces reportedly attacked Ukraine with 99 weapons of various types, including a variety of missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that were detailed by Ukrainian officials following the air strikes. 

In the first wave, approximately 35 Shahed-136 and Sahed-131 drones were launched at Ukraine. About 70 Kh-101, Kh-555, and Kh-55 cruise missiles were also fired from Russian Tu-95MS strategic bombers. But that wasn’t everything Moscow launched at Ukraine. 

Russia also fired 10 Kh-74M2 Dagger cruise missiles from Russian Mig-31K fighter jets and 3 Kalibr missiles were launched from naval assets. 12 Iskander-MS missiles and 4 Kh-31P anti-radar missiles were also launched at targets in Ukraine from Russian Su-35 tactical jets. 

Using the data available following the attack, Tarasovskyi and Gnenny were able to provide a rough estimate of the cost of Russia’s attack by breaking down the cost of each weapon type that was used. 

For example, Tarasovskyi and Gnenny noted that the cost of a Kalibr missile was $6.5 million while a Kh-101 missile was $13 million. An Iskander worth was approximately $3 million, a Kh-55 cost $2 million, and a Kh-555 was $4 million. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Vitaly V. Kuzmin

Russia’s vaunted Kh-47 Dagger was likely the most expensive missile fired in the attack at $15 million while the cheapest was likely the Shahed drone, which was worth about $50,000. After breaking down the costs of every weapon presumably used in the attack, a total was reached. 

Russia spent approximately $620 million on its January 2nd air assault against targets in Ukraine. That may seem like a lot but a separate report from Forbes revealed Moscow spent between $700 and $750 million on a similar attack just a few days before on December 29th, 2023.

Whether or not Russia could continue to pay for such expensive attacks was not known at the time, nor was the approximate number of missiles and drones that the country had left in its arsenal. But what was known was that the January 2nd attack took an immense toll on human life. 

At least 135 people were injured by the attack on January 2nd alone and 5 people were killed according to Reuters. The focus of the wide-ranging attack appeared to be on Kyiv and the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on social media that Russia’s December 29th and January 2nd attacks saw a combined total of roughly 300 missiles and 200 Shahed drones launched at Ukraine

Updated casualty statistics listed on Wikipedia later revised the number of people injured to 119 while the amount of killed rose to 6. A quarter of a million Ukrainian people also lost access to electricity following the attack according to BBC News Ukraine.

“Prior to Ukraine, no country in the world had ever successfully repulsed such combined attacks with the use of drones and missiles, including air-launched ballistic missiles,” President Volodymyr Zelensky explained at the time about the attacks in a post on the social media platform X. 

“I am grateful to every warrior in our Air Forces, all fighters in mobile air defense groups, every anti-aircraft gunner, and everyone throughout the world who is assisting Ukraine by providing weapons to defend our skies,” Zelensky added.  

At least 72 air targets launched by Russia on January 2nd were destroyed by Ukraine's air defenses according to the Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Mykola Oleshchuk. However, what didn't get intercepted or destroyed caused major damage. 

Reports from Kyiv’s mayor Vitaliy Klitschko revealed buildings in no less than 5 districts of the capital had been damaged or destroyed. Rescue workers and fire crews were on site to deal with the aftermath of the terrible attack.