Claims that Russian air defenses are allegedly shooting down 10 out of 11 Ukrainian Flamingo missiles may be part of a Russian information campaign aimed at discrediting Ukrainian weapons. This opinion was expressed in an exclusive comment to UNN by defense industry expert and head of a weapons manufacturing company Anatolii Khrapchynskyi.
Enemy IPsO
In Russia, they regularly claim to have shot down Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles, while citing astronomical figures. For example, in July, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the destruction of 20 FP-5 Flamingo missiles, while in the first half of August, Russian air defenses allegedly destroyed 25 such missiles. According to the data from the aggressor country's agency, at least 57 missiles of this type had allegedly been shot down since June. The narrative that Flamingos allegedly fail to reach their targets is periodically picked up by Ukrainian activists, and recently an American military journalist joined their ranks.
Some media outlets picked up his statement that the Russians shoot down 10 out of 11 Flamingos, despite the fact that the journalist himself writes about the inaccuracy of his calculations, since he can rely only on open-source data.
Given that Ukraine's Defense Forces do not disclose the number of weapons used in strikes on Russian territory and regularly report only specific targets hit, it is obvious that the journalist relied on reports from Russia's Defense Ministry in Russian propaganda media.
Defense industry expert and head of a weapons manufacturing company Anatolii Khrapchynskyi explained in a comment to UNN that there are currently no grounds for concluding that the Russians are capable of shooting down most Flamingo missiles.
"The Russian air defense system was developed for the threats of the previous generation and is not sufficiently adapted to modern challenges, which is why it misses a significant part of the targets. Therefore, I would refrain from categorical statements about its high effectiveness," he said.
According to the expert, such reports in the media may be part of a Russian information and psychological operation (IPsO).
"Let us recall the Gerasimov doctrine, which includes, among its functions, precisely information pressure," Khrapchynskyi reminded.
The term "Gerasimov doctrine" emerged after the publication in 2013 of an article by Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, in which he pointed, among other things, to the growing role of informational, political, and economic means in warfare.
It is worth noting that Russia systematically uses information operations and disinformation as one of the instruments of waging war against Ukraine. Therefore, the dissemination of reports about the alleged near-total ineffectiveness of Ukrainian missiles may be aimed at shaping an information environment favorable to Russia, in particular to discredit Ukrainian defense technologies.
Russia in Flames
At the same time, claims about the nearly 100% effectiveness of Russian air defenses are inconsistent with the numerous successful strikes on targets in Russia. In particular, Flamingo missiles have been used repeatedly to strike a number of military and industrial targets.
For example, on June 10, the VNIIR-Progress enterprise in Cheboksary, which manufactures modules for kamikaze drones, was hit. The use of Flamingos was confirmed by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the time.
Later, on June 27, Ukrainian forces attacked the Titan-Barrikady defense-industry enterprise in Volgograd with FP-5 missiles. It manufactured launchers for the Yars, Topol-M, and Sarmat systems.
On July 24, Ukraine struck the AviaTek enterprise in Russia's Kirov, which is part of Russia's aviation and defense complex. Fire Point chief designer Denys Shtilerman confirmed that the strike was carried out using Flamingo missiles.
During the night of August 15, 2026, the "Progress" Rocket and Space Center and the "Aviakor" aircraft plant were hit using FP-5. The center developed and manufactured medium-class launch vehicles, including those of the "Soyuz-2" family, as well as spacecraft for remote sensing of the Earth and scientific programs.
It is also worth taking into account that these are far from all the cases of the successful use of Ukrainian weapons against Russian facilities. However, the very fact that reports of strategic facilities being hit are appearing regularly indicates that Russia's air defense system does not ensure the absolute interception of Ukrainian "long-range sanctions." That is why categorical statements about "10 out of 11 missiles shot down" should be viewed primarily as an element of information influence, rather than as an established fact.