Ukraine has destroyed two launchers belonging to the Russian S-400 long-range air defense system in a coordinated strike targeting the country's air defense infrastructure, MWM reports, quoted by Focus. The launchers were located in the Bryansk region of Russia and another hidden launcher on the Crimean peninsula, while part of the "Nebo-U" early warning radar system was also damaged. .
The S-400 is currently considered the backbone of the country's air defense network, with more than twice as much money being spent on the systems over the past two decades as on all types of fighter jets combined.
The system has been extensively field-tested in both the Russo-Ukrainian war and the India-Pakistan border clashes, earning praise for its performance in combat. While the destruction of launchers is a loss, two destroyed launchers represent only one-eighth of the total arsenal of an S-400 regiment, with each regiment having additional missiles in addition to those in its launch tubes.
The destruction of the launchers is not expected to have a significant impact on the current war effort, as Russia has S-400 systems in huge quantities and produces them on an extremely large scale, leaving it unlikely that Ukraine would significantly reduce the number of launchers in service on its own.