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Ukraine struck one of Russia’s most treasured air-defense systems on Wednesday, reports said.
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Drones hit an S-400 Triumph inside near Belgorod, Russia, an intelligence source told the Kyiv Post.
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It would be the first time Ukrainian forces hit an S-400 system in Russia’s own territory.
Ukraine damaged one of Russia’s most treasured air-defense system in a drone attack, according to multiple reports.
Using multiple strike drones, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) damaged a Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft system on Wednesday, The Kyiv Post reported on Wednesday, citing an intelligence source.
The SBU source did not elaborate on the extent of damage done, though Reuters reported that the system’s radar was affected.
The attack occurred at night time inside mainland Russia, near the southwestern city of Belgorod, according to Ukrinform and Reuters.
While Ukraine has previously destroyed a similar system in occupied Crimea, this would be the first time it struck an S-400 system in mainland Russia.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that it had downed 31 drones launched over the regions of Belgorod, Bryansk, and Kursk. However, it did not say whether an S-400 system was damaged.
A spokesperson did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
The reports come after Ukraine said that another such system was destroyed on September 14 in Yevpatoriya, a coastal city in the west of occupied Crimea that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
The destruction was the result of a joint operation by the SBU and the Ukrainian Navy.
Russia’s S-400 mobile long-range surface-to-air system that includes truck-mounted radars, a mobile command post, and multiple missile launch platforms. It is designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles at long ranges and high altitudes.
Both the BBC and Bloomberg cited Ukrainian sources suggesting the destroyed system in Crimea was worth as much as $1.2 billion, but other estimates are closer to $500 million.
The SBU source told the Kyiv Post that given this is the second S-400 struck by Ukraine in the last month, “[we] advise the Russians to think about a new name for this complex,” a dig at its “triumph” moniker.
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