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The actual number may be even higher.
Ukraine’s security service says it has achieved one of its most significant battlefield successes of 2025, taking out nearly half of Russia’s “Pantsir-S1” air defense systems.
The announcement underscores what Kyiv describes as a growing vulnerability in Moscow’s defense network.
A strategic priority
According to Defense Romania, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief, Vasyl Maliuk, revealed the figures on October 31 during a briefing with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He said the operation to destroy “Pantsir” systems had become one of the country’s top military objectives, personally ordered by the president.
Maliuk explained that the “Pantsir” complexes are Russia’s most efficient weapons against long-range Ukrainian drones operating deep in occupied territory.
“In front of us, let’s face it, the enemy has a very strong anti-aircraft defense. It is precisely the ‘Pants’ that work most effectively against our long-range drones,” he said.
According to Maliuk, Russia’s dependence on these systems is now being turned against it. He added that Russia produces around 30 such complexes each year, but “the number of systems destroyed significantly exceeds the Russians’ production capabilities.”
This rate of loss, he suggested, represents a serious weakening of Russia’s protective “umbrella” over critical strategic assets.
Verified through open sources
Independent monitoring appears to support Ukraine’s claims. The Dutch military analysis website Oryx, which tracks verified equipment losses, has confirmed the destruction of at least 35 “Pantsir-S1” systems since the start of the full-scale war.
Maliuk indicated that the true number is likely higher, as not all losses are publicly documented.
The “Pantsir-S1,” first deployed in 2012, is a short-range air defense system combining two 30 mm automatic cannons with twelve guided missiles. It can target aircraft and drones up to 20 kilometers away and at altitudes of up to 15 kilometers.
The modernized “Pantsir-S2” extends its detection range to over 40 kilometers.
Russia has used these systems in Ukraine since 2014, including during the battle for Debaltseve in Donbas.
Strikes on economic targets
Maliuk also connected the air defense campaign to the SBU’s wider effort to disrupt Russia’s economic and military infrastructure. He said Ukrainian forces have conducted around 160 successful strikes behind enemy lines this year, focusing largely on the oil and gas sector, which he described as covering “90% of the Russian Federation’s defense budget.”
Between September and October alone, Ukrainian drones hit 20 major targets, including six refineries, two oil terminals, three storage bases, and nine pumping stations.
According to Ukrainian estimates, the strikes have already reduced Russia’s petroleum product deliveries by more than 20% and temporarily shut down 37% of its refining capacity, prompting Moscow to ban gasoline exports until the end of the year.
Deep strikes continue
Recent operations have shown how the destruction of “Pantsir” systems has opened the way for deeper Ukrainian drone attacks.
In late October, the SBU’s Special Operations Center “A” reportedly destroyed Russian air defenses in occupied Crimea.
Around the same time, a Ukrainian RAM-2X kamikaze drone struck a Russian system more than 100 kilometers from the front line at the Luhansk airport.
Maliuk said these operations mark just the beginning. The SBU, he added, would continue targeting deep inside Russian territory using “new means and approaches” now that one of Moscow’s most effective defenses has been severely diminished.
Sources: Ukrainian Presidential Office, Reuters, BBC, Oryx, AP.
