U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing: Ukrainian officials and experts urge expanded air-defense supplies as Russia escalates missile and drone strikes

WASHINGTON — Ukrainian and Western experts told a public briefing hosted by the U.S. Helsinki Commission on July 23 that Russia’s recent escalation in long‑range missiles and massed one‑way attack drones has created an urgent shortfall in Ukraine’s air‑defense capacity.

Major General Boris Kremenitsky, defense attaché at Ukraine’s embassy in Washington, described a surge in combined missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities and infrastructure and said “air defense is really crucial.” He and other panelists warned that the scale and tempo of attacks are increasing and that existing Western supplies, while valuable, are insufficient to protect all population centers and critical nodes.

The briefing assembled three panelists with air‑defense expertise: Major General Boris Kremenitsky (defense attaché, Embassy of Ukraine), Dara Massicot (senior fellow, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace) and John Hardy (deputy director, Russia program, Foundation for Defense of Democracies). The moderator was Connor Lewis, policy fellow at the Helsinki Commission; Kyle Parker, chief of staff to the commission’s chairman, opened the session.

Why it matters: Panelists said the combination of higher Russian production, foreign assistance to Moscow, and tactical adaptations designed to saturate or evade defenders are straining Ukraine’s layered defenses. Faster transfers of interceptors and munitions, help fielding integrated command‑and‑control, and support for Ukrainian production…