Ukraine said Thursday it had damaged a number of Russia's prized S-400 Triumph air defense systems, radar stations and a control center during an attack on a large air base in annexed Crimea.
The attack, which took place on Wednesday at a military airfield in the city of Dzhankoy, is reported to have killed up to 30 Russian personnel and wounded a further 80 people. Ukraine's military intelligence said the strike damaged four S-400 air defense systems, three radars, an air defense command-and-control center, and other surveillance equipment.
The S-400 is a Russia-designed mobile surface-to-air missile system (SAM) that's capable of engaging aircraft, UAVs and cruise missiles, and has a terminal ballistic missile defense capability, according to the U.S.-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
CSIS states that Russia began developing the S-400 in 1993. It mostly uses the 48N6 missile series, which allows it to hit aerial targets at ranges up to 250 kilometers (155 miles), and the systems are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles across a 60-kilometer radius.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Kyiv was behind the strike and thanked his top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, for organizing the operation.
"Today, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a precise strike on the occupiers in Dzhankoy, on an airfield," Zelensky said in his nightly video address to the nation. "Thank you, warriors. Thank you for your accuracy. Thank you to commander-in-chief Syrskyi for organizing this operation."
Ukrainian officials haven't elaborated on the number of personnel killed and wounded in the attack, but a Crimean-based Telegram channel called Crimean Wind reported on Wednesday that "about 30 Russian servicemen were killed and about 80 were wounded at the airfield."
Prominent pro-Moscow military blogger Rybar said on Telegram that the attack involved 12 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles launched in two waves.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment by email.
Strikes in Crimea, which is Russia's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine, have become routine in the war started by Moscow, as Kyiv seeks to reclaim territory occupied by Russian forces. Attacks have struck military targets in a push to weaken Moscow's defenses and disrupt Russia from transporting equipment, weapons, and troops from mainland Russia into the peninsula.
Zelensky has pledged to undo Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
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