Russia has likely modified its ballistic missiles to better defeat U.S.-made Patriot interceptors in Ukraine, the Financial Times says. The U.S. is to provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy sites, the Wall Street Journal says. EU leaders fail to make progress on a proposed loan to Ukraine based on immobilized Russian assets, the Financial Times says.
Russia likely modified its ballistic missiles to better defeat U.S.-made Patriot interceptors in Ukraine, FT says
Months of devastating Russian air attacks suggest Moscow has succeeded in altering its missiles to evade Ukraine’s air defences, the Financial Times said on Thursday, citing unnamed Ukrainian and western officials. The paragraphs below are quoted from the article.
Bombardments that targeted Ukrainian drone makers this summer were a prominent example of Russia improving its ballistic missiles to better defeat US Patriot batteries, current and former Ukrainian and western officials told the Financial Times.
Russia was likely to have modified its Iskander-M mobile system, which launches missiles with an estimated range of up to 500km, as well as Kinzhal air-launched ballistic missiles, which can fly up to 480km, they added.
The missiles now follow a typical trajectory before diverting and plunging into a steep terminal dive or executing manoeuvres that “confuse and avoid” Patriot interceptors.
It is a “game-changer for Russia”, said one former Ukrainian official. With Kyiv also contending with slower deliveries of air defence interceptors from the US, the missile campaign has destroyed key military facilities and critical infrastructure ahead of winter.
Ukraine’s ballistic missile interception rate improved over the summer, reaching 37 per cent in August, but it plummeted to 6 per cent in September, despite fewer launches, according to public Ukrainian air force data compiled by the London-based Centre for Information Resilience and analysed by the Financial Times.
The Patriot interceptors are the only ones in Kyiv’s arsenal capable of shooting down Russian ballistic missiles. Moscow’s cruise missiles can be taken down with less sophisticated air defences, but the updates have made it harder to do so, according to the officials.
U.S. to provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy sites, WSJ says
The U.S. will provide Ukraine with intelligence for long-range missile strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure, American officials said, as the Trump administration weighs sending Kyiv powerful weapons that could put in range more targets within Russia, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday.
The U.S. is also asking NATO allies to provide similar support, the U.S. officials said, confirming details first reported by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters said.
Washington has long been sharing intelligence with Kyiv, but the Wall Street Journal said the new data would make it easier for Ukraine to hit infrastructure such as refineries, pipelines and power plants with the aim of depriving the Kremlin of revenue and oil.
The U.S. is considering a request by Ukraine for long-range Tomahawk missiles, U.S. Vice-President JD Vance has earlier said.
During a meeting on the margins of the UN General Assembly in New York last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi asked U.S. President Donald Trump for Tomahawk missiles, according to media reports.
When asked for details of the request at a news conference in Kyiv on Saturday, Zelenskyi said that “we have provided the U.S. President with a list of everything Ukraine wants, with details and illustrations.”
EU leaders fail to make progress on proposed loan to Ukraine based on immobilized Russian assets, FT says
EU leaders failed to make progress on a proposed €140bn loan to Ukraine based on immobilised Russian assets at Wednesday’s summit in Copenhagen, as Belgium refused to lift its opposition and France and Luxembourg voiced their concerns over the legal implications, the Financial Times said on Thursday.
Under the commission’s “reparations loan” proposal, Russian assets that have matured into cash at the central securities depository Euroclear would be used to issue the loan. Kyiv would only refund the money once Russia pays significant war reparations to Ukraine for the massive destruction its war has caused. Should Moscow refuse, the assets would remain frozen.
During a brief meeting on Wednesday, several EU leaders said they were ready to accept the plan, but the European Commission would have to assess legal and financial risks.
It is unlikely that the European Commission will be in time to prepare a legal proposal for EU leaders ahead of their meeting in Brussels in three weeks, in view of extensive technical works, the Financial Times said, citing unnamed sources.
At a closed meeting of EU leaders, Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever spoke against the new plan.
Belgium is wary of making itself a target for Russia and is reluctant to act without clear support from its EU partners.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agreed that “Belgium cannot be the one who is the only member state that is carrying the risk, the risk has to be put on broader shoulders,” she said.
All 27 member states will have to agree to the idea of using Russian assets frozen in the EU to provide a loan to Ukraine.
