Vladimir Putin ‘running out’ of missiles – because parts are made in Ukraine

Vladimir Putin risks running out of viable tanks, missiles and fighter jets because the components they use are made in Ukraine, The Telegraph understands.

The engines for all Russian helicopters, ships and cruise missiles and a substantial portion of fighter jet engines and ground-to-air missile and tank components are made in Ukrainian factories, which no longer supply Mr Putin’s forces.

Russian troops are understood to be running low on arms after five weeks of conflict and the heavy shelling of many Ukrainian cities.

This week, Russia’s deputy defence minister said the country was moving into “phase two” of the conflict and would pull its forces back from Kyiv and focus on the Donbas region in the east.

Western politicians dismissed the statement as an attempt by Russian generals to save face after suffering significant losses on the battlefield, while Russian forces continue to bombard Mariupol, a southern coastal city on the Sea of Azov, which could be used as a landing point for Putin to supply his armies in the Donbas and Crimea.

The arms restocking crisis will affect the production of T-72 battle tanks, one of the main armoured vehicles of the Russian army. Systems that launch their projectiles are manufactured in Izyum, an eastern Ukrainian city that Russian forces have failed to capture.

Open-source intelligence estimates suggest that Russia has already lost 2,000 tanks and armoured vehicles during the conflict, but the true figure is thought to be higher.

Viral videos have emerged of Ukrainian farmers towing away tanks that have run out of fuel or been abandoned by Russian troops.

It is understood that Russia will also be unable to restock with Kh-55 cruise missiles, which are launched from the air and can carry nuclear warheads, because they rely on imported components.

The Kh-55 is used by Russia, China and Iran, and uses an engine manufactured in Kharkiv, senior defence sources told The Telegraph.

All Russian missiles launched from helicopters and ships use Ukrainian-manufactured engines.

Western sanctions mean Putin is also unable to buy arms from France, which has supplied hundreds of millions of pounds worth of equipment to Russia since the invasion of Crimea in 2014.

Sources said the current stock levels of the Russian military were “pretty bad”, following Mr Putin’s inability to capture Ukraine as quickly as many analysts had expected.

‘Donor conference’

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, has asked Western nations to continue to supply his forces with “lethal aid”, including missiles and other arms to be used against Russian forces.

On Thursday, Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, convened a “donor conference” of 35 countries to persuade them to give more arms to Mr Zelensky’s troops.

So far, the UK has supplied 4,000 next-generation anti-tank weapons (NLAWs) and Javelin anti-tank systems and pledged to send Starstreak air defence systems and 6,000 new anti-tank and high explosive missiles. 

The Times has reported that the British Starstreak missile system is believed to have been used to shoot down a Russian helicopter in its first use on the Ukraine battlefield. Footage of the attack shows the projectile cutting a Mi-28N in two over the Luhansk region.

Britain has also sent Ukraine body armour, helmets, boots, ration packs and communications equipment.