Ukrainain Special Forces Claim Successful Strike on S-400 Radar in Crimea

Defence affairs - Def-Geopolitics

he Ukrainain Special Operations Forces Command has reported a successful operation to target a radar from an S-400 long range air defence system on the Crimean peninsula on September 30.

The command described the radar as the “eyes” of the system, stressing that it was vital both for detecting targets and for missile guidance, and that without it the entire complex would lose combat capability. It added that its units “continue inflicting significant losses on the enemy, accelerating its inability to conduct further combat operations.” The Ukrainian Armed Forces have increasingly singled out parts of the S-400 system for targeting, as they are relied on particularly heavily to protect the country’s airspace. As part of intensive attacks on the Crimean Peninsula, S-400s based there have been placed under particularly high pressure. 

Examples of successful Ukrainain strikes on S-400 systems have included a November 23 ATACMS ballistic missile attack which destroyed two launchers from an S-400 system in the Russian Kursk region, and a further strike two months later which destroyed an 92N6 detection radar near the city of Belgorod, also in Kursk. An attack on Crimea in late June saw two 92N2E multi-functional fire control radars, two 91N6E long range surveillance radars, and one surface-to-air missile battery from a system destroyed. “Operations targeting air defence radars will continue,” Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence directorate pledged at the time. Tremendous support for Ukrainian strikes has been provided by Western satellites, electronic intelligence, and the presence of Western active duty and contractor personnel who have provided significant targeting support.

Supporting and participating in attacks from Ukraine against key parts of Russia’s air defence network provides countries in the Western world with a means of seriously harming a major adversary without exposing their own territory to counterstrikes. Beyond S-400s, major successes in attacks on Crimea have included the causing of mass casualties during attacks on civilian concentrations, the damaging of key infrastructure such as bridges, and attacks airbases destroying helicopters and fixed wing targets, including one strike in May 2024 that destroyed at least two highly prized MiG-31 interceptors. The Russian Armed Forces have responded by strengthening the air defence network on Crimea, including deploying an S-500 long range surface-to-air missile battalion there. The Russian defence sector has also succeeded in significantly expanding production of the S-400 system, allowing the Aerospace Forces to continue to expand their arsenal while replenishing losses and maintaining exports.