Ukrainian Drones Destroy Air Defense System
The strike destroyed an S-400 launcher just 12 miles from the Russian president's lavish estate in Gelendzhik, with Kyiv claiming Russia had also used the system for offensive attacks on Ukrainian cities.
The strike destroyed an S-400 launcher just 12 miles from the Russian president's lavish estate in Gelendzhik, with Kyiv claiming Russia had also used the system for offensive attacks on Ukrainian cities.
Ukrainian long-range drones have destroyed a Russian S-400 'Triumf' air defense missile system deployed near President Vladimir Putin's lavish Black Sea residence. The launcher was hit at a location about 12 miles from the Gelendzhik complex, and according to the commander of Ukrainian drone systems, Major Robert Brovdi, it was 'in flames and sparking for three hours' after the strike.
The destroyed installation was part of a multi-layered defense network that includes electronic warfare units and mobile fire teams, maintaining a 27-square-mile buffer zone and a permanent no-fly zone around the estate. Military officials in Kyiv have stated that Russian forces repurposed this air defense system for offensive bombardments, using it on August 8 to launch six missiles at Ukrainian cities.
Fabian Hoffmann, a missile expert at the University of Oslo, commented on Russia's reliance on secondary systems amid ballistic defense constraints. 'While they are less precise and lethal, they still pose a threat to civilian infrastructure, especially when launched at densely populated areas,' Hoffmann wrote.
The Gelendzhik complex, valued at £1 billion in a 2021 investigation by Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, includes a range of amenities such as a casino, vineyard, spa, underground ice rink, and a recently added chapel. Due to growing security risks, Putin rarely visits this Black Sea location, preferring his heavily fortified dacha on Lake Valdai, east of Moscow, which is surrounded by at least 27 Pantsir air defense towers.
Regional instability was further highlighted last week when debris from downed Ukrainian drones fell on a nearby beach, killing seven people.
The operation near Gelendzhik is part of a larger Ukrainian air offensive targeting Russian air defenses and infrastructure on multiple fronts. In occupied Crimea, Ukraine's military intelligence reported the destruction of two additional S-400 launchers, along with an antenna system used to command medium-range Orion drones. The damage is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
A special wave involving more than 450 long-range drones struck deep into Russian territory on Monday night, hitting an oil refinery in Tatarstan, killing at least 13 people, and debris was found as far as the city of Tyumen in Siberia.
Despite Kyiv using the escalation of deep strikes to create diplomatic pressure, Moscow has rejected current peace terms. 'No 'freezing' is possible without addressing the root causes of this crisis,' said Mikhail Galuzin, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister, dismissing calls for a ceasefire along existing front lines.
