Official: New Ukrainian-made missile used to strike Crimea
The Aug. 23 strike on an a Russian anti-aircraft system in Crimea used a "new, completely modern" Ukrainian missile, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on Aug. 26.
Danilov was speaking to Ukrainske Radio about the attack on the missile defense system in Olenivka on the northwestern tip of Russian-occupied Crimea.
The Ukrainian-made missile worked "flawlessly," he said.
The blast wiped out a Russian S-400 air defense system. According to Ukrainian intelligence, the entire system was destroyed, along with all missiles and personnel.
The S-400 anti-aircraft system could strike targets in air, on land, and at sea, and had the ability to hit aerial targets up to 250 miles away.
The day after the strike, Ukrainian forces landed in Maiak, five kilometers from Olenivka, and raised the Ukrainian flag as part of a join operation between the Navy and intelligence units.
A radar base and radio engineering troop base for the Russian Aerospace Forces, the air and space branch of the Russian military, are located near Maiak.
Intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told Ukrainian media that he could not release detailed information on the Aug. 24 operation, but that it "had the characteristics of a raid."
An intelligence source later confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that this was part of a "set of measures" of the same long-term operation as the strike on Olenivka.
Ukrainian forces have launched a number of successful strikes against key targets in Crimea this summer, including an attack on the Crimean Bridge.
Uliana Horoshko
