Ukrainians dismantle Russian S‑300/400 air defense in Crimea
Ukrainian armed forces have counted the number of S-300/400 air defence systems destroyed over the past few weeks. Over two months, the defenders' army eliminated about 15 air defence complexes in Crimea alone.
The Russian S-300/400 systems have recently become priority targets for Ukrainians. With the intensification of attacks on these tools, public opinions suggest that the Ukrainian army is trying to prepare for the arrival of the F-16 in this way.
Military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko confirmed this by assessing that American fighter jets will perform best in the southern part of Ukraine and Crimea precisely because of the reduction in Russian air defence systems.
Moreover, Ukrainians are aware that the Russian Federation is facing a shortage of S-300/400 systems. Military experts point out that currently, the Russians have about 100 battalions equipped with these complexes, while they need ten times more equipment for effective defense.
Over two months, Russians lost 15 systems in Crimea alone
Just before the F-16 appears in Ukraine, it certainly doesn't help the Russians that their S-300/400 air defence systems in Crimea are virtually powerless against Ukrainian missiles. The scale of the problem was illustrated by the Ukrainian armed forces' StratCom profile on Facebook.
They published a map of the destroyed air defence complexes used by the Russian Federation within two months. The graphic shows that Russians lost as many as 15 S-300/350/400 systems over the past eight weeks. The most significant losses include the western and southwestern parts of Crimea.
The army loses more S-300/400 complexes
It should be noted that the S-300 and S-400 are actually two different weapons, but they have similar capabilities. The S-400 Triumf complex is an evolution of its predecessor, the older S-300, but it is generally adapted to fire at enemy objects using the same missiles designed for the S-300.
These complexes' potential targets include a wide range of tools. The S-300/400 eliminates virtually any air threat – aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles.
The newer S-400 range is set at a maximum of 400 kilometres (thanks to 40N6 missiles). The most popular missiles the Russians use for firing from this complex are the 2-ton 48N6DM/48N6E3 rockets with a warhead weighing nearly 200 kilograms. These allow for attacks within about 250 kilometres from the launch point.
