Ukrainian Armed Forces Probably Hit Russian SAM in Crimea [Video]

29 November, 2024 Explosion on the outskirts of Simferopol, November 29, 2024. Photo: t.me/chp_crimea On the outskirts of Simferopol, a large-scale explosion of an unknown object located near the local airfield took place.

Footage of the explosion was posted online. In the morning, at about 9:00 a.m., local Telegram channels published footage of an explosion that visually resembled the detonation of rocket fuel, which can be observed at the moment of the defeat of anti-aircraft missile systems. The Ukrainian Geoint project Cyberboroshno geolocated the shooting and the area of the explosion (here) near the village of Kurhanne, the Simferopol district.

"Near the field where the SAM was hit is a former S-400 stationary position. It stopped being used after constant missile and UAV attacks on Crimea. However, the position and the field are located at a height, so it is likely that today the SAM decided to take up firing position in the field due to the good topography for this," the project analysts said.

Visually, the explosion is indeed comparable to the footage that previously recorded the detonation of a warhead of large S-300 or S-400 missile systems. An example is the destruction of Russian S-400 Triumf missile launchers in Crimea last August, which was filmed by a reconnaissance drone of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine.

The detonation resulted in a similarly sized cloud of white smoke with traces of solid rocket fuel flying in different directions.

Destruction of the Russian S-400 Triumf missile launchers in Crimea. August 23, 2023. Ukraine.

Frame from the video of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine

Just a day earlier, on November 28, the press service of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported the destruction of a Russian 48YA6-K1 Podlet radar in Crimea. This mobile radar was located at a considerable distance from the village of Kotovske in the west of the temporarily occupied peninsula. Its destruction could have helped Ukrainian weapons to bypass air defense.

The Podlet is designed to autonomously monitor airspace and provide targeting guidance for S-300 and S-400 air defense systems.