Why Ukraine ended up with fewer ballistic missiles than Russia after Soviet Union's collapse

"The Russians were in a much better position when it came to ballistic missile capabilities. It’s easy to understand why: even back in Soviet times, Russia worked to maintain control over this technology and its military application. While Ukraine had the industrial capacity, the military units stationed here during the Soviet era were set up for a potential future war between the Soviet Union and NATO. The focus on our territory was primarily on strategic missile weapons and tactical bomber aviation. We did have some ballistic systems, but not enough to consider them a significant factor," Zhovtenko said during the Video NV interview.

He added that Moscow tightly controlled the ballistic missile forces: "It’s clear that the command of the regiments, which were meant to lead an assault on NATO countries, was never going to be based in Ukraine or Kyiv—it was always going to be in Russia, and specifically in Moscow."

Zhovtenko also recalled that Ukraine handed over bombers and cruise missiles to Russia as a way to settle gas debts.

"Some of the serial numbers on missiles used against Ukraine show they were transferred to Russia from Ukrainian arsenals. These are the same Kh-type cruise missiles," he noted.

In 1999, Ukraine transferred nearly 600 Kh-55 and Kh-55SM cruise missiles to Russia as payment for natural gas supplies.

In August 2023, journalists from the Schemes investigative program uncovered that Russia was using these missiles to strike Ukraine. One of the report’s authors, Serhiy Andrushko, told Radio NV that around 10 missiles had been identified with serial numbers matching those Ukraine had handed over to Russia in 1999.