Strike on Yevpatoriya suggests systemic problems of Russian air defense in Crimea — ISW

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War. 

American analysts point out that on September 14, Ukrainian troops struck at the Russian air defense system near Yevpatoriya, which indicates that there may be systemic tactical air defense failures in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

ISW notes that sources in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) report that a unique special operation was conducted jointly with the Ukrainian Navy and a Russian S-400 Triumph system was destroyed near Yevpatoriya. Ukrainian troops hit the radars and antennas of the S-400 system with drones and hit the launchers with two Neptune missiles.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defense allegedly intercepted 11 drones over Crimea, but did not mention missile strikes. At the same time, geolocation footage released on September 14 shows an explosion near Yevpatoriya and plumes of smoke in the area. Other geolocation images show that Russian troops have recently deployed an S-400 battery outside of Yevpatoria, and that the explosion occurred in the same location where the S-400 system was deployed in August 2022.

“The strike suggests that Russian forces were unprepared to intercept missiles with the system or were unable to do so. Ukrainian forces struck a Russian S-400 air defense system near Olenivka, Crimea (117km northwest of Sevastopol) on August 23, and the second Ukrainian strike on a significant Russian air defense system in recent weeks indicates that such tactical failures may reflect a wider systemic issue with Russian air defenses in occupied Crimea,” ISW summarizes.

• On September 14, in Yevpatoriya, the SBU, together with the Navy, conducted a special operation and attacked the Russian air defense system Triumph.