Khmara Says Ukraine Has Hit 12 Russian Ballistic Missile Launchers

Speaking after a call with Dutch Defense Minister Dilan Yeşilgöz-Zegerius, Ukraine’s defense chief said Kyiv is “acting asymmetrically” against Russian ballistic missile strikes.

“We have already hit 12 launchers in Russia. This is one of our ways of countering the enemy’s ballistic missile strikes,” Yevhenii Khmara said, according to a Defense Ministry statement on Wednesday.

Ukraine Claims 12 Launchers Hit

Khmara said Ukrainian forces are also striking Russian plants that produce weapon components, and claimed Russia’s output in that area is already shrinking. He did not say when the 12 launchers were hit, and the claim has not been independently verified.

He stressed that Ukraine’s need for interceptor missiles remains critical. The ministers discussed transferring Patriot missiles from partners’ existing stocks in exchange for future deliveries already under contract. European Patriot inventories are already under strain as allies weigh further transfers to Kyiv.

Allies Discuss Missiles and F-16s

A day earlier, Khmara spoke by phone with Norway’s Defense Minister Tore O. Sandvik ahead of a Ramstein-format meeting. They discussed faster air-defense missile deliveries and supplies of 20 mm ammunition for Ukraine’s F-16s, rounds the ministry said are highly effective against jet-powered drones.

The talks also covered projects to integrate additional missiles into NASAMS batteries. Ukrainian F-16s have already been used heavily against one-way attack drones, often with the aircraft’s 20 mm cannon.

The ministry described the 20 mm talks with Oslo as a discussion, not a completed deal. The Dutch conversation focused on F-16 maintenance, not a joint ammunition agreement.

Interception Rates Rise for Drones

Separate figures issued by Ukraine’s General Staff on Nov. 11, not by Khmara, said air defenses neutralized 1,406 of 1,695 jet-powered attack drones between Nov. 1 and 10, about 83%. Conventional propeller-driven Shahed-type drones were intercepted at about 91%, or 1,662 of 1,824.

Overall, 3,068 of 3,519 Shahed, Gerbera, and Parodiya-type attack drones were neutralized, or about 87%. Those weapons are one-way attack drones, not rockets. Nearly half of the drones launched in that period were faster jet-powered variants, the General Staff said.

Kyiv Scales Cheaper Defenses

At the Atlantic Future Forum on Friday, Khmara said combat aircraft and surface-to-air missiles remain the most effective tools against jet-powered drones and cruise missiles. In parallel, he said, Ukraine is scaling cheaper options: anti-aircraft artillery modules, interceptor drones, and electronic warfare systems.

“This is not only about the aircraft fleet, but the entire package that gives us capability: weapons, technical support and pilot training,” he said.

He again pointed to strikes on launchers and Russian weapons plants, plus a multi-layer electronic warfare system, as answers to ballistic missiles. Kyiv has also been trying to line up larger Patriot stocks as interceptor shortages persist.