Ukrainian Special Ops Hits Two Russian Buk Anti-Aircraft Missile Complexes Worth Millions

The Ukrainian Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported on Telegram the targeting of two Russian Buk anti-aircraft missile complexes with the attack drones.

“SSO hits two Russian Buk air defense systems in the Sumy region,” the caption to the released video said.

Initially, SSO operators discovered one Russian missile complex during reconnaissance missions, which was in launch position. Ukrainian attack drones then targeted and disabled it.

Another Buk arrived to evacuate the disabled air defense system, but SSO operators struck it again.

“Therefore, two anti-aircraft missile systems of the Russians were hit,” the report read.

The Special Ops did not specify which type of attack drones were used for this mission.

Drone camera footage showed the Russian anti-aircraft missile complex, followed by an explosion indicating its disabling. Further, the second Buk was seen and targeted by a drone, resulting in another explosion.

While the time and location of the footage could not be independently verified by Kyiv Post analysts, there is a high probability that it showed the moments of hitting the Buk missile systems, despite the low video quality.

According to information from open sources, the cost of the latest modern version of this air defense system – the Buk-M1-2 – is approximately $100 million. However, from the video alone, it is difficult to ascertain which version is shown, and Special Ops did not specify in the report which versions were hit.

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The Buk medium-range anti-aircraft missile system is designed to destroy strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, helicopters, and other aerial objects (depending on the version).

It can be used for air defense of troops, military facilities, important administrative-industrial areas, and other zones during mass air attack scenarios, and can also serve as a module of an integrated tactical anti-missile defense network.

The SSO earlier reported the destruction of a Russian Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile complex, which was preparing to launch missiles. SSO operators relayed the target coordinates to the missile artillery unit of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. However, Special Ops officials did not specify which weapon was used to inflict the damage.