Ukrainian drones strike Russian S-400 air defense system in occupied Crimea, HUR says
Ukrainian drones struck air defense equipment in Russian-occupied Crimea, damaging radar units and components of the S-400 Triumph system, Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) claimed on June 26.
The drone strike was carried out by the agency’s “Ghosts” unit, HUR said. Video footage of the operation published on HUR’s official Telegram channel shows the trajectory of multiple drones as they approach and hit their targets.
The attack damaged “critical and expensive components” of Russia’s S-400 Triumph air defense system, including two 92N2E multifunctional control radars, two 91N6E detection radars, and an S-400 launcher, according to HUR.
“Radars are the ‘eyes’ of the enemy’s air defense system. Without them, anti-aircraft systems become combat ineffective,” HUR wrote.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Earlier this month, the Atesh partisan group reported that a Ukrainian drone attack hit Russian military facilities near Simferopol. The group claimed on June 13 that Ukrainian drone attacks likely hit a Russian air defense system.
Ukraine has previously carried out successful attacks on S-400 radar systems in Crimea and other regions, including Russia’s Belgorod Oblast. Kyiv regularly launches strikes on military and industrial targets in both Russia and Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.
Russia has illegally occupied Crimea since 2014, transforming the peninsula into a heavily militarized stronghold. Moscow uses the region to support its war in Ukraine, launching missiles from the Black Sea and exploiting the peninsula as a key logistics and transport hub.
The Kerch Airport in Crimea has also been repurposed from civilian to military use, with Moscow-backed proxies transferring part of the airport’s land to the Russian Defense Ministry in spring 2025, according to an investigation by Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe.
