Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, known as HUR, carried out a precision strike on key Russian military assets in occupied Crimea on October 26, 2025, destroying three advanced radar systems and a high-speed landing craft in a coordinated drone operation.

According to verified Ukrainian reports and video evidence, the attack eliminated several high-value targets: the S-400 “Triumf” 96L6 acquisition radar, the P-18 “Terek” early-warning radar, and the 55Zh6U “Nebo-U” multi-band radar — all critical components of Russia’s air defense network. The strike also destroyed a Russian BK-16 landing craft stationed near the peninsula’s western coast.

Military analysts describe the operation as one of Ukraine’s most sophisticated intelligence-led attacks to date, significantly degrading Russia’s ability to detect and intercept aerial threats over the Black Sea. The loss of the S-400’s 96L6 radar alone reportedly reduces Russian detection capability by up to 300 kilometers, forcing Moscow’s forces to rely on older, less efficient systems.

The strike underscores the growing precision and reach of Ukraine’s defense intelligence operations deep inside Russian-occupied territory. Analysts from RAND and the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have previously noted that similar Ukrainian drone strikes have exposed systemic flaws in Russia’s integrated air defense architecture, particularly in Crimea — a region heavily militarized since Moscow’s 2014 annexation.

Ukrainian officials hailed the mission as a “measured and targeted response” to Russia’s continued missile assaults on Ukrainian cities. As the war enters another winter of high-intensity drone and missile exchanges, Kyiv’s latest strike demonstrates both strategic innovation and the persistent vulnerability of Russia’s once-vaunted air defense systems.