Attack on Crimea: Kiev claims to have hit three Russian air defense systems in ATACMS shelling

Ukraine attacked several state-of-the-art Russian air defense systems in Crimea overnight, the Kiev military said on Monday, the latest round of long-range attacks aimed at threatening key Russian assets on the annexed peninsula that Ukraine is seeking to retake from Moscow.

Ukraine “successfully attacked a Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system near Dzhankoi and two enemy S-300 anti-aircraft missile systems near Chornomorske and Yevpatoria,” said a statement by the Kyiv General Staff published on social media.

The Ukrainian military said the attacks damaged radar equipment, a key component of any modern air defense system, and that none of Kiev’s missiles were intercepted.

Newsweek could not independently verify the reports of the Kyiv armed forces and has asked the Russian Defense Ministry for a comment by email.

Rybar, one of the influential Russian military blogger accounts often cited as a source rather than official statements from Moscow, said on Monday that Ukrainian forces attacked Crimea overnight with “at least 12” US-supplied Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles fired from the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv.

Another well-known military blogger said Kyiv had attacked Crimea with an unspecified number of ATACMS missiles. The independent Russian news portal Astra reported that “at least ten” ATACMS missiles were fired, damaging two S-300 systems and four radars on the peninsula.

Four rockets hit Dzhankoi and another four landed near the Saky air base, Astra reported. The air base, which Ukraine had previously attacked, is located southeast of Yevpatoria. Two rockets landed near Hromove, a village south of Chornomorske in the west of the peninsula, Astra reported.

Local social media channels in Crimea reported explosions overnight, including in the areas of Dzhankoi and Yevpatoria.

The S-300 air defense system and the modernized S-400 air defense systems are valuable and expensive weapons designed to deter Ukrainian attacks on key Russian facilities such as air bases and logistics centers on the peninsula.

In addition to drone strikes, Ukraine has also used long-range missiles from the West to attack Russian facilities and equipment. Earlier this year, the US approved new shipments of ground-launched ATACMS missiles, which Ukraine has used several times to attack Crimea.

Kyiv has repeatedly attacked Dzhankoi, a key rail and road hub for Russian forces in Crimea, close to crossings into Moscow-controlled southern mainland Ukraine, where one of Russia’s main military airports is located.

The Ukrainian military intelligence service GUR announced in mid-April that it had damaged or destroyed four S-400 launch pads in Dzhankoi, along with a number of other Russian equipment. Kyiv had previously said it had hit an S-400 system in Yevpatoria in September 2023 and destroyed another in August of the same year.

Moscow has controlled Crimea for a decade and Ukraine has pledged to push back Russian control of the territory.

Update, 06/10/2024, 07:45 AM ET: This article has been updated with additional information.