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Ukraine Discloses Strike That Wiped Out Russia’s $150 Million Air Defense Assets

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
News Writer
Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system on field deployment. (Source: Russian media)
Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system on field deployment. (Source: Russian media)

Ukrainian special operations forces, working jointly with the Russian resistance movement Chornaya Iskra (“Black Spark”), carried out a cross-border strike that destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 air defense launcher and damaged a Nebo-U radar system in Russia’s Rostov region, Ukraine’s Special Operations Command reported on October 31.

The operation took place overnight on September 28, but details were made public only weeks later.

Russian Nebo-U radar in a position. (Source: alexgarcialonso/X)
Russian Nebo-U radar in a position. (Source: alexgarcialonso/X)

“During the night of September 28, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, in coordination with the partisan movement Chornaya Iskra inside Russia, conducted a special mission that disabled two critical elements of the enemy’s air defense system,” the SSO said in a statement.

According to the command, both the Buk-M3 launcher and the Nebo-U radar were vital to Russia’s air defense network in southern Russia, protecting airspace near the Ukrainian border.

Their destruction, it said, significantly weakens Moscow’s ability to counter Ukrainian long-range drone strikes and frontline aviation.

The Buk-M3 is one of Russia’s most advanced medium-range surface-to-air missile systems, capable of intercepting aircraft, drones, and cruise missiles at ranges of up to 70 kilometers.

Each launcher is estimated to cost between $40 million and $50 million. Equipped with the 9R31M missile and advanced radar capable of tracking dozens of targets simultaneously, the system forms a key component of Russia’s mobile anti-aircraft shield.

Meanwhile, the Nebo-U radar—a sophisticated long-range tracking system with a detection range of up to 700 kilometers—is used to spot high-altitude aircraft and incoming missiles.

Valued at roughly $100 million, the system plays a major role in Russia’s early warning and air defense network across its western and southern regions.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said that its Active Operations Department detected and destroyed three high-value Russian air-defense systems during operations on October 23–24.

According to HUR, the losses included a Buk-M3 self-propelled launcher and two 1L119 “Nebo-SVU” surveillance radars.

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