Ukrainian forces have reportedly hit Russian air defense systems in the occupied Crimea peninsula, according to reports on social media, Newsweek reports.
Reports from X, formerly Twitter, indicate that Ukraine hit Russian air defenses with tactical ballistic missiles at Cape Tarhankut, the western tip of Crimea. The X account “War Translate” posted a screenshot of messages from “Russian channels” about an attack that allegedly took place during the night of April 28.
“During the night, the enemy attacked the units of the air defense system at Cape Tarhankut with ATACMS missiles, probably with a fragmentation warhead. The enemy is trying to shoot down entire air defense areas; the intensification of attacks is expected against the background of Kiev’s attempts to organize offensive and informational actions on the occasion of Victory Day and the inauguration of the supreme commander”, it shows in a translated message.
“No confirmation yet”, writes “War Intel”, which publishes an old footage of the destruction of an S-400 air defense system that took place last year on August 23.
Newsweek was unable to independently verify these claims as of the article’s publication date (April 28) and has contacted the Ministry of Defense and the Armed Forces of Ukraine for clarification.
“Given the limited number of such systems [S-400] in the arsenal of the enemy, this is a painful blow to the air defense system of the occupiers”, Ukrainian intelligence officials said in a statement seen by The Kyiv Independent.
This month, Ukraine struck a large Russian airfield in Djankoi, Crimea.
“Today, the Ukrainian armed forces carried out a precise strike on the occupiers of Djankoion an airfield“, Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky announced in a video speech on April 17. “Thank you, warriors. Thank you for your accuracy. Thank you to the commander-in-chief [Oleksandr] Sîrski for organizing this operation”.
This was the first attack in which US-supplied ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles were used. It is not known for certain whether US-supplied weapons were used in the recent attack on Cape Tarhankut reported on Russian channels.
The long-range missiles were sent to Ukraine earlier this year at the request of President Joe Biden. State Department spokesman Vedant Patel confirmed that the delivery had not been publicly announced “to maintain operational security for Ukraine at its request.”
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed to reporters this week that a “significant number” of missiles, which can hit targets up to 300km away, have been supplied to Ukraine.
The deployment of long-range missiles was initially rejected by the Pentagon due to fears that Ukraine could use them to strike targets deep in Russian territory, risking an escalation of the conflict. The Biden administration had supplied Ukraine with medium-range ATACMS missiles in September 2023.
Although Russian Telegram channels report on Ukrainian attacks on an anti-aircraft system in Cape Tarhankut, there was no official confirmation – neither from Russia nor from Ukraine, wrote the Ukrainian portal Defense Express.
Russian Telegram channels reported that on the night of April 28, Ukraine would have launched ATACMS missiles in Crimea, which would have hit Cape Tarhankut. According to the Russians, an air defense unit was attacked. They also assume that Ukraine is preparing a special operation to destroy the bridge in Crimea, and for this purpose that they are hunting the air defenses of the entire peninsula.
Two Russian airbases hit in Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions
The Ukrainian army has carried out several successful airstrikes on Russian bases in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Sirski, announced on Monday, quoted by RBC Ukraine.
“We chase and hit. Today, two airstrikes were carried out on enemy personnel concentration areas in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. Targets were hit”Sirski said.
Tags: Ukrainians allegedly hit air defense systems Crimea ATACMS missiles
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