Ukraine continues to attack the Crimean peninsula almost daily, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014. The Ukrainian secret services and navy carried out a special operation tonight near the city of Yevpatoria, western Crimeawhere several military units are deployed and in whose vicinity is the Saka military airfield. In this operation Ukraine appears to have destroyed a Russian S-400 Triumf air defense system, which is valued at 600 million dollars. The newspaper “Ukrainska Pravda” claims that what was destroyed by Ukraine amounts to 1.2 billion dollars in losses, which could have destroyed two S-400 systems.
According to a military counterintelligence source from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the target was effectively attacked with drones and Neptun missiles, reports “Ukrainska Pravda”. First of all, SBU drones reached the “eyes” of the system, that is, its radars and antennas. After disabling the radar stations, naval units reached the S300/400 Triumf launch systems with two Neptun cruise missiles.
The S-400 system is an upgrade of the S-300 system and is considered Russia’s most sophisticated anti-aircraft system. It has an advanced radar with a 600 km range and its projectiles can hit targets located 400 km away. It is capable of intercepting aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles or drones and can reach a maximum speed of Mach 12higher than that of any aircraftwith a flight ceiling that reaches 185 kilometers. The S-400 can be transported on motorized vehicles with four short-range launchers or one long-range launcher. This defense system has been exported by Russia to several countries, including NATO member India and Turkey. Its advanced technology and its price have made it an alternative to the Patriot systems (1,000 million) and THAAD, valued at about 3,000 million dollars.
Ukrainian media had previously reported explosions this morning in Yevpatoria and the Russian Defense Ministry reported another attack by Ukraine against the Black Sea Fleet and the annexed Crimean peninsula with naval drones and unmanned aerial vehicles.
Russia denounces more attacks
The Russian Defense Ministry indicated in a statement that the Ukrainian Armed Forces “tried to attack the Black Sea Fleet patrol vessel Sergei Kotov in the Black Sea with five unmanned naval vessels.” The department headed by Sergei Shoigu assured that the attack was repelled and that the five boats were destroyed by fire from the patrol boat’s weapons.
Half an hour later, he added, the Russian Army “stopped an attempt” by kyiv “to carry out a terrorist attack with drones” against Crimean territory. According to the Moscow version, anti-aircraft defenses destroyed a total of 11 unmanned aerial vehicles on the annexed peninsula.
This attack occurs a day after the army of kyiv damaged two Russian military ships in a bombardment against a shipyard in Sepastopol. According to Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), it is a landing ship and a submarine. Anonymous GUR sources had identified the Minsk ship and the Rostov-on-Don submarine as the Russian ships that Ukraine would have knocked out of combat. The Russian Defense Ministry later assured that the damaged ships “will be fully repaired” and will return to service.
