Ukraine shows footage of Bober drones hiitting Russian air defenses, fighter jet in Crimea

Ukraine shows footage of Bober drones hiitting Russian air defenses, fighter jet in Crimea

Ukraine’s military intelligence agency (HUR) released on July 1 video footage showing domestically produced drones striking multiple Russian air defense assets and a fighter jet in occupied Crimea in what it described as a successful special operation.

The undated footage shows the combat use of UJ-26 drones, commonly known as Bober (Beavers), targeting high-value Russian military systems.

“These reliable weapons in the hands of HUR special forces are turning critically important Russian targets into useless scrap,” the agency said in a statement.

HUR added that the Bober drones are effectively “gnawing through” Russia’s expensive air defense systems “like barberries."

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A Ukrainian drone targets and destroys Russian military assets in occupied Crimea, according to Ukraine’s military intelligence agency. (HUR / Telegram).

The released footage shows that the strikes destroyed or severely damaged several Russian military assets, including a Pantsir-S1 air defense system and its crew, a Niobium-SV radar, a Pechora-3 coastal radar, a Protivnik-GE radar, and a Su-30 fighter jet stationed at the Saky airfield in occupied Crimea.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify HUR’s claims.

The strikes are part of Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to degrade Russian military capabilities in Crimea, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014. Moscow reported Ukrainian drone strikes against the peninsula earlier on July 1, with the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reporting attacks in the vicinity of S-300/S-400 air defense systems.

Ukraine has increasingly deployed new drone systems to target Russian military assets on the front line and deep inside the Russian rear.

Ukraine shows footage of Bober drones hiitting Russian air defenses, fighter jet in Crimea
Ukraine’s Autonomous Republic of Crimea. (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)
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Ukraine shows footage of Bober drones hiitting Russian air defenses, fighter jet in CrimeaThe Kyiv IndependentOleg Sukhov
Ukraine shows footage of Bober drones hiitting Russian air defenses, fighter jet in Crimea