Russia's long-range attack causes Ukraine to lose a series of expensive weapons

The Russian military has launched long-range strikes deep into Ukraine’s rear. Last Saturday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had destroyed an S-300 air defense system deployed near the town of Pokrovsk in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, an area controlled by Ukrainian forces.

The town is located about 67 km northwest of the capital Donetsk. The system was hit by at least one Iskander ballistic missile, causing a secondary explosion of the anti-aircraft missile. The massive explosion disabled several launchers and support vehicles.

While the Russian military identified the system as the Soviet-made S-300, many Ukrainian sources and independent military observers said the destroyed vehicles belonged to the US-made Patriot system.

Video footage released by the Russian Ministry of Defense appears to corroborate this theory, with two of the destroyed vehicles resembling German-made MAN KAT1 8x8 trucks, a type of vehicle commonly used as a Patriot launcher. The Russian military also claimed to have struck another Patriot launcher in Ukraine's Kharkiv region on Wednesday.

World - Russia's long-range attack caused Ukraine to lose a series of expensive weapons (Image 2).

Also on the same day, the Russian military reported another long-range attack and released drone footage. The attack was on a makeshift airfield near the village of Novopavlovka in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, about 46 kilometers from the front line. Three Ukrainian Mi-8/17 military transport helicopters were also targeted by Russian fire. The attack left two of the helicopters damaged and unable to fly. The other was later destroyed by a high-precision missile.

On Monday, Moscow claimed to have destroyed a fourth US-supplied M1 Abrams tank to Ukraine, although there was no footage to corroborate the incident.

On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced control of Nevelskoe, a small settlement about 20 kilometers west of Donetsk. It is about 3.5 kilometers south of the village of Pervomayskoye, a key stronghold for Ukrainian forces that provides cover for the southern flank of the Orlovka-Tonenkoye-Berdychi line. Pervomayskoye, which stretches along a network of ponds, canals and dams, has been the scene of heavy fighting for weeks. Russian forces are said to have taken control of part of its eastern outskirts.

HOA AN (According to RT)

Source