According to Defense Express, an S-400 air defense system was destroyed at an air base in occupied Dzhankoi as a result of a strike. This is evidenced by an unconfirmed photo taken at the scene. There is also preliminary information that the strike killed about 30 Russians and wounded 80 more.
Satellite images of the airfield taken in March indeed show the deployment of the S-300 or S-400 system. Also, the use of this complex to cover not only the airbase from which attack helicopters and assault aircraft take off, but also an important railroad junction, is absolutely logical.
But if the information about the destruction of the S-400 is confirmed, it will prove its helplessness against ballistic missiles. And this is exactly the possibility of this missile defense system being actively declared by the Russian Federation.
S-400s have already been destroyed in the occupied Crimea before, most recently near Olenivka on Cape Tarkhankut and in the area between the villages of Molochne, Uiutne, and Zaozerne. At the time, it was reported that a combined attack from 'kamikaze' drones and cruise missiles, including the Neptune adapted for this task, was used to destroy these SAMs.
"Then the helplessness of the S-400 in the fight against such targets was directly proven. And not only in the case of a combined attack, as questions arose about the ability of this Russian air defense system to detect small targets in general. Because the moment of the S-400's destruction was filmed by a reconnaissance drone.
However, in the case of the S-400, we are talking about ATACMS ballistic missiles, at least, the Russians themselves complained that they were used. And this means proving that the S-400, despite all the declarations, cannot intercept even quite old ballistic missiles from tactical missile systems. At the same time, we are not talking about the need to even overload the channel of the air defense system, because, as the Russians themselves say, there were only two ATACMS missiles," Defense Express experts conclude.