Ukraine 'destroys Russian air defense system' in CrimeaBy RACHAEL BUNYAN and WILL STEWART and REUTERS
14 September 2023
Ukraine destroyed a state-of-the-art Russian air defense system in an overnight drone and missile attack in annexed Crimea, Kyiv has claimed. Kyiv 's security service (SBU) managed to blind the S-400 'Triumf' system by firing a series of drones at its radar and antenna before the Navy fired two its newly-developed Neptune cruise missiles at the system's launch complexes, a Ukrainian intelligence source said. Video footage showed powerful explosions and a plume of smoke rising in the night sky near the western town of Yevatoriya, which is where the Russian facility is located.
The strikes on the S-400 is significant since the state-of-the-art air defense system and associated radar should detect and nullify drones and missiles over some 200 miles. And it illustrates yet again the success of Ukraine's Neptune anti-ship missile, which has been modified to attack ground targets, military analysts say. Last month, Ukraine detonated a modified subsonic Neptune missile in Crimea, destroying another of Russia 's S-400 Triumf air defense systems in a spectacular explosion that also took out Russian troops.
Initial speculation was that Kyiv had used a British or French supplied Storm Shadow missile with pinpoint accuracy in last month's deadly strike on Olenivka at Cape Tarkhankut in northwest Crimea. But a Ukrainian official confirmed that the attack was '100 per cent carried out by a modified Neptune'. Russia has yet to comment on the latest attack on the S-400 Triumf system. Instead, Moscow said its air defenses shot down 11 attack drones overnight over Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
Debris from the Ukrainian drones was found in Yevpatoriya, said Russian reports, while locals reported hearing 15 explosions that caused buildings to shake. The S-400 'Triumf' system is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range missiles. It can also be used on ground targets. Separately in the Russian region of Saratov, near the village of Krasny Oktyabr, a huge explosion on a major gas pipeline sent flames shooting into the sky today.
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Source:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/galleries/article-12518885/Ukraine-destroys-Russian-air-defense-Crimea.html