A Ukrainian drone has reportedly destroyed a Russian Kasta radar station near the village of Gory in Russia’s Kursk Oblast bordering Ukraine. According to an anonymous source in Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) speaking to the Ukrainian news outlet LIGA.net and Ukrainska Pravda, the strike took place on 28 September, ahead of Ukraine’s strike at a power station in nearby Kursk.
Possibly, the disabling of the radar station is what enabled the 29 September drone strike, which led to a blackout of Russian military objects around the station.
The source stated that “the Russian air defense has been slightly blinded” by this attack. They mocked claims that the Kasta radar could detect even stealth aircraft, asking “why did the SBU drone manage to slip by it?”
The Kasta-2E2 radar is designed for 360-degree detection and tracking of airborne targets, even at very low altitudes. Russia claims it can identify the trajectory and provide targeting data to surface-to-air missile systems.
String of Ukrainian attacks on Russia’s bordering regions
The Oblasts of Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk have been lately reeling from Ukrainian attacks.
On 8 September, a drone crashed into a microelectronics plant in Bryansk. On 26 September, another SBU drone dropped an explosive on a power station in Kursk, blacking out seven villages.
On 24 September, a Ukrainian drone hit the FSB building in Kursk, and a Ukrainian UAV force-landed at the airfield in Khalino detonated, killing and injuring air force officers.
On 26 September, a blackout was caused by a Ukrainian SBU drone attack on the village of Snagost in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
Russian officials in Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod have complained of frequent explosions and drone attacks. Ukraine has not claimed responsibility but appears intent on disrupting Russian logistics and infrastructure.
Frontline report: Russia’s Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk oblasts reel from Ukrainian strikes