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Today, the biggest news comes from the Russian Federation.
Here, Ukrainian forces are systematically striking Russian air defense systems across hundreds of kilometers. After months of preparation, Kyiv’s strategy is now fully visible: destroy radars, launchers, and control modules until the skies are open, and air superiority is established.
A few recent operations reveal the scale and precision of Ukraine’s effort, as near the town of Bohoyavlenka in the Donetsk region, a Russian Buk-M1 launcher was hunted in real time. A reconnaissance drone tracked it to a building before a bomber drone began tearing the roof apart, finally dropping an explosive directly onto the system and causing a massive ammunition explosion.
In Zaporizhia, Ukrainian forces destroyed a rare control module of a Barnaul-T air defense control system, a central node that links radar with launchers and can coordinate multiple launches at the same time. In Rostov, one of Russia’s Nebo-U long-range radars was struck overnight, with fires confirmed by Nasa Firms satellites.
Further north, another radar site of a Sopka-2 system in Voronezh was hit, reportedly destroying its antenna. And in Crimea, Ukraine neutralized Podiet and Nebo-M radars, a sign that even protected sites deep within the peninsula are vulnerable.
These attacks span thousands of kilometers but share a clear operational goal of systematically dismantling the infrastructure that keeps the air defense network functional. By knocking out early warning radars and central coordination modules, Ukrainian forces create time gaps in detection and response, while effectively blinding connected missile. By destroying intercept launchers with their own radar and control module built in such as the Pantsir or Buk systems, they undermine Russia’s ability to patch holes in their layered defenses. By finally targeting systems like Barnaul-T, which coordinate radar data, firing orders, and even external assets, they sever the entire command structure and ability of the Russian network to work together. The more fragmented Russia’s air defense grid becomes, the more exposed its rear area is to follow-up strikes from Ukrainian bombers, drones, or cruise missiles.
Near Orlivka in Donetsk, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones adjusted fire onto Russian Osa and Strela-10 launchers, with artillery finishing the job, a typical frontline engagement against short-range systems. Heavier bomber drones are used for structural targets or soft-skinned vehicles, as in the Bohoyavlenka and Oleksiivka strikes, where they ignited stored ammunition and set several launchers blaze. Shark UAVs frequently assist in locating and guiding these strikes to their targets.
For deeper targets, fixed-wing kamikaze drones are launched to strike radar installations in Rostov, Voronezh, or Crimea. And in rare cases, Ukraine has uses their fighter jets for complicated Sead and Dead missions, to suppress or destroy enemy air defenses.
Geolocated footage already shows one of such missions, with a Mig-29 fighter jet launching radar-seeking missiles to target and strike Russian Tor and Buk systems in Zaporizhia. The range and variety of these tools show that Ukraine is no longer just improving; it is executing a coordinated multi-domain campaign to disable Russian air defenses.
The campaign continues daily and has now widened in scope, as in Zaporizhia, multiple S-300V systems have been destroyed in separate strikes north of Oleksiivka, with kamikaze drones eliminating another Buk-M3 nearby. In western Crimea, Ukrainian drones targeted relay sites near known air defense positions, with fire markers visible even on satellite imagery. In Luhansk, partisans blew up a Russian mobile air defense group guarding a repair base, reportedly linked to earlier atrocities in Bucha.
North of the border in the Kursk region, a Russian SAM or surface-to-air missile site was destroyed near the village of Rzhava, making it the northmost confirmed strike of the campaign.
From Krasnodar Krai to Kursk, Ukrainians are striking Russian air defenses and creating a kill zone up to 300 kilometers deep into Russian-controlled territories.
Overall, Ukraine is not just blinding Russian air defenses, it is taking apart the system that makes them effective. Russia air defense systems are not infinite, each destroyed S-300 or Buk system costs millions to replace, requires specialized parts, and strains an already overburdened military industry to meet wartime needs. This is not air superiority in the classic sense of fighter dominance, but a complete demolition of radar, control, and interceptor assets, to give Ukrainian air power freedom of movement across the frontline and deep into occupied territory, as the Ukrainian air strike offensive only seems to intensify.
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