Ukrainian drone operators hit the S-400 Russian long-range air-defense battery in occupied Crimea overnight, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) reported on 27 July. They burned a missile launcher and the radar that lets the system detect incoming aircraft and missiles, then published video of the strikes.
The strike
Overnight on 25–26 July 2026, operators from HUR's Unmanned Systems Department tracked down a Russian S-400 Triumf system on the occupied peninsula. They set fire to its launcher and to the 96L6 radar that feeds it targeting data, the agency reported while sharing the footage. The S-400 is one of Moscow's high-value air-defense complexes.
The video first follows the point of view of a one-way attack UAV — a cheap drone built to crash into its target — as it approaches the parked launcher, the picture cutting out the instant it hits. A second drone films the blast from a distance. A third then lines up the system's radar.
Ukrainian units have torched S-400 radars and launchers on the peninsula before, part of a steady push against Russia's air cover, targeting long-, medium-, and short-range systems, different types of surveillance radar, and even the mobile fire groups — the drone-hunting squads with machine guns.
What the S-400 and its radar do
The S-400 Triumf is Russia's long- and medium-range air-defense system, built to shoot down aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. Depending on the missile it carries, it can engage aerodynamic targets up to 400 km away and ballistic targets up to 60 km with its 40N6E and 48N6 interceptors.
The wider squeeze on Crimea
The strike came amid a run of attacks tightening around the occupied peninsula. Overnight on 27 July, explosions were followed by power outages reported in at least Simferopol and Sevastopol. Fire broke out at a main substation in Bakhchysarai and near the Black Sea Fleet's 133rd separate logistics brigade close by.
Russia’s Arctic bases sit near-naked as air defenses vanish to guard Moscow and refineries burning inland
A night earlier, Ukraine's Defense Forces struck a Chornomornaftogaz gas facility near Vnukove and a relay station used to guide Russia's Geran and Gerbera long-range attack drones near Chornomorske.
Occupied Yalta stayed without power as of 26 July. In nearby Alushta and its villages, occupation authorities declared a state of emergency on 25 July after more than 48 hours of darkness, opening the door to cash compensation for residents. Yalta's occupiers instead set up so-called assistance centers where people can charge phones, power banks, and flashlights, under restrictions and video surveillance. Some residents complain that poor-quality fuel may be causing their generators to fail.
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