Russia can fire 77 missiles at Ukraine in single salvo — and plans to scale up, drone commander says

Russia is currently able to fire a simultaneous salvo of up to 77 ballistic and cruise missiles during attacks against Ukraine, Unmanned Systems Forces Commander Robert "Madyar" Brovdi said in an interview with the Associated Press (AP) published Aug. 10.

Brovdi's report comes amid an intensified Russian aerial campaign against Ukrainian cities, left vulnberable to ballistic missile strikes due to a critical shortage of air defense munitions.

Russia is now capable of firing 77 missiles at once, Brovdi told the AP. The aim is to increase that number to 200.

"Even if they only manage half of that, it will all be flying at us," Brovdi said.

Brovdi later clarified that the simultaneous salvo involves missiles of various types launched from various platforms, including ships and aircraft. While some outlets initially reported that the Russia could fire 77 ballistic missiles in one salvo, Brovdi explained that the simultaneous barrage would include both ballistic and cruise missiles.

"The enemy is working to increase the simultaneous barrage to up to 200 units, but this does not refer exclusively to ballistic missiles," he wrote on social media.

The misinterpretation arose from an error in translation, he said.

The clarification matters, as ballistic missile defense is currently the greatest weakness in Ukraine's sky shield. The only air defense system Kyiv has that can reliably shoot down Russian ballistic weapons is the U.S.-made Patriot — and Ukraine is nearly all out of Patriot interceptor missiles.

Brovdi also told the AP that Russia has ramped up the number of jet-powered Shahed-type drones it launches at Ukraine, further overwhelming the country's strained air defenses. The number of jet-powered drones has increased two and a half times in recent weeks, he said.

In the interview, Brovdi also discussed Ukraine's expanding ability to hit key targets deep in Russia and in occupied Crimea and emphasized the importance of destroying Russia's missile production facilities with long-range strikes.

Brovdi's report about Russia's missile-firing ambitions came the same day that Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) revealed new details about Moscow's production capabilities.

According to Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of HUR, Russia's monthly production of key missiles, including the Kalibr and Kh-101 cruise missiles, is exceeding targets by about 10–20%.