Today's Massive Attack on Ukraine Cost Russia Over $1.2 Billion

Russia’s massive missile and drone attack on Ukraine on Friday cost at least $1.273 billion, according to an analysis by Ekonomichna Pravda.

The bulk of the missiles fired by the Russian armed forces were X-101s, each one costing around $13 million.

According to the Ukrainian Air Force, 90 were launched on Friday at a total cost of $1.17 billion.

Russia also fired:

• 5 X-47M2 Kinzhal aerial ballistic missiles which cost upwards of $10 million each, adding another $50 million to the total
• 8 X-22/X-32 cruise missiles, each of which costs about $1 million
• 14 Iskander-M ballistic missiles costing $3 million
• 4 X-31P anti-radar missiles and one X-59 missile, which cost $0.5 million each
• 36 Iranian Shahed-136/131 strike drones in the attack, each of which cost around $20 thousand to $50 thousand.

Thus, according to the calculations of Ekonomichna Pravda, the attack cost Russia $1,273,220,000.

Of course, Ukraine paid a far higher price – so far 26 people are known to have been killed and more than 130 injured.

In March 2020, Russia set aside $135.7 million to build a new state-of-the-art hospital – it could build nearly 10 more for the money spent on today's attacks.

Of the missiles fired in the attack, the X-22 is posing a particular problem for Ukrainian air defenses.

Since the launch of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have fired around 300 X-22 missiles at Ukraine, none of which have been intercepted and shot down, a Kyiv official said on Friday.

Speaking just hours after a massive attack on cities across Ukraine, Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat said this and a modified version of the missile were likely some of those that made it past air defenses today.

“The X-22 missile flies at a speed of four thousand kilometers per hour, it enters its target mostly along a ballistic trajectory, so special means are needed to intercept it,” he told national television.

Other Topics of Interest

Shift in Ukrainian Attitudes Toward War Endurance as Belief in Russia’s Resources Grows

Between February and October 2023, the proportion of Ukrainians who believe Russia retains substantial resources for a prolonged war against Ukraine nearly doubled, rising from 22% to 49%.

In 2000, Ukraine transferred 386 X-22 missiles to Russia as an installment against the gas debt.

These have since been used to target Ukrainian cities in attacks like the one this morning.