Russia, according to the Financial Times, may have upgraded its ballistic missiles used in strikes on Ukraine so they can evade the Patriot air defense system. The paper cites Ukrainian and Western sources.
The systems in question are the Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile, with a declared range of up to 500 kilometers, and the Kinzhal aero-ballistic missile, capable of hitting targets up to 480 kilometers away.
According to FT’s sources, the missiles initially follow a standard trajectory before abruptly veering off course, executing a steep dive or a series of maneuvers that make interception by Patriot defenses more difficult.
The effectiveness of Ukraine’s air defenses has dropped sharply: while in August 37% of Russian ballistic missiles were intercepted, in September the figure fell to just 6%.
The paper notes that in the summer of 2025 Russia struck at least four drone-production facilities in Kyiv and the surrounding region. Among the targets was a plant manufacturing Turkish Bayraktar drones. That strike, carried out on August 28, saw Russian missiles bypass Ukraine’s air defenses and also damage the buildings of the EU delegation and the British Council located nearby.