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By Ellie Cook
Senior Defense Reporter
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Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Kyiv's military intelligence agency said it recently targeted key components of a sophisticated Russian air defense system in Crimea, dealing a multi-million-dollar blow to Moscow's military infrastructure on the annexed peninsula.
The GUR military intelligence agency reported on Monday showing in a video that its operatives struck two launchers belonging to Russia's S-400 air defense system, alongside a command antenna used to operate advanced Orion drones. The agency estimated the damage at tens of millions of dollars.
Newsweek could not independently verify the video and reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
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Targeting Moscow's Premier Air Defense
Ground-based air defense launchers are responsible for firing interceptor missiles designed to neutralize incoming threats, including drones, jets, helicopters and various types of missiles.
The S-400 represents Russia's most advanced widely deployed air defense network. Capable of engaging targets at distances up to 250 miles, the system serves as Moscow's rough equivalent to the U.S. Patriot missile defense system, making it a high-priority target for Kyiv.
While the GUR stated the operation occurred in early August, it did not disclose specific operational details. The Russian Defense Ministry has reported multiple Ukrainian drone incursions over Crimea during the same period, though it remains unconfirmed if those reports correspond directly to this strike.
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Expanding Campaign to Isolate Crimea
Illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, Crimea remains a central objective in Kyiv's campaign to reclaim all occupied territories, an issue at the core of stalled peace negotiations.
In recent months, Ukraine has intensified its attacks on Crimea, using new medium-range drones to cut off the peninsula from Russia, disrupt fuel supplies and key logistics routes from Moscow through to Russian-held chunks of southern Ukraine.
The country has paired this with a wider campaign on Russian oil facilities, including a refinery just a few miles from the Kremlin, and warehouses belonging to Wildberries, Russia's largest online retailer sometimes dubbed the country's version of Amazon.
Alongside attacks on land, Kyiv has targeted Russia's Black Sea naval fleet around Crimea, seriously damaging or destroying at least a third of the fleet by early 2026, according to Ukrainian officials.
Ukraine's former Defense Minister Mykhailo Fedorov said in June that Kyiv was trying to turn Crimea "into an island."
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Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Federica Bindi and Anthony Murray.
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