The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has struck Russian air defence systems and military airfields in Crimea. Operators from the Alpha Special Operations Centre carried out a series of strikes on enemy targets in the Kerch Strait area, as well as on infrastructure at the Saky and Hvardiyske military airfields.
According to preliminary SBU information, four aircraft storage hangars were hit at the Saky airfield. Near Kerch, two launchers from an S-400 surface-to-air missile system and two Pantsir-S1 air defence missile and gun systems were struck.
“This is already the fourth Pantsir-S1 system hit by the SBU’s Alpha unit in this area,” the Service commented.
Context
- Not only the SBU but also the Unmanned Systems Forces carried out strikes on targets in occupied Crimea overnight. Drone operators struck Sevastopol’s largest power substation, causing widespread power outages.
- Today’s attack continued a broader campaign against Russian military infrastructure on the occupied peninsula. Following the occupation of Crimea in 2014, Russia transformed it into a key staging ground for air and ground operations against Ukraine.
- Read about it in a piece by Kyrylo Danylchenko titled “The cost of holding Crimea: Ukraine’s strategy of logistical attrition”.