Forbes: Ukraine resurrects Soviet ballistic missiles that physics left for dead

Ukraine’s 19th Missile Brigade continues to rely on refurbished Soviet-era Tochka-U ballistic missiles in its ongoing war with Russia, despite a dwindling supply, Forbes reports. David Axe, a war correspondent for the outlet, notes that Ukraine inherited around 500 Tochka-U missiles when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. By early 2022, as Russia expanded its invasion of Ukraine, only about 90 of these missiles remained in the Ukrainian arsenal.

The decline in missile availability is understandable, Axe explains. The Tochka-U, a two-ton rocket with a range of 70 miles (about 113 km), is powered by a single-stage, solid-fuel engine.

“Solid rocket fuels don’t last forever,” he notes, referring to the missile’s aging technology.

Despite these challenges, recent photos and videos from January and March 2025 confirmed that the 19th Missile Brigade, which also operates US-made HIMARS launchers, has continued deploying what appear to be newly refurbished Tochka-U missiles.

HIMARS and Tochka-U: precision & power.