Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
31 targets were taken out in June alone.
Winning a modern conflict requires looking far beyond the immediate front lines.
Behind the scenes, military planners work tirelessly to dismantle the invisible protective layers shielding enemy territory.
For the last six months, Ukraine has been waging a long-range campaign against Russian logistics and targets deep inside Russian territory, and new data shows that Russia’s air defenses simply can’t keep up with the Ukrainian campaign.
Cracking the shield
According to a report by Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, operators have successfully struck 194 air defense assets since the beginning of 2026.
That is equivalent to more than one successful strike per day, and June alone saw 31 targets destroyed.
Established as a standalone branch of the armed forces in mid-2025, the unit has kept a steady tally. Since then, its crews have logged 276 total strikes against Russia’s core air defense network.
The breakdown of the destruction reveals a massive dent in Moscow’s defenses. Losses include 169 anti-aircraft guns and surface-to-air missile systems. To blind the enemy, operators also destroyed 76 radar stations and 31 electronic warfare units.
Beyond the main network, Ukraine targeted smaller local air defense assets. In total, crews knocked out 426 mobile radars alongside more than 3,800 mobile jamming units. These systems typically protect local fuel hubs and supply lines.
Finding the gaps
Every single piece of equipment destroyed creates a new vulnerability in Russia’s rear defenses. Stripping away these radars and jammers makes it much easier for Ukraine to launch deep missile or drone strikes later on.
A late-June operation coordinated with the force’s Deep Strike Center demonstrated the broad scope of the campaign. In occupied Crimea, operators targeted a Pantsir-S1 missile system along with two advanced radar networks.
The assault did not stop at air defense. In Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia region, the drone units struck fuel storage facilities and railcars carrying oil. Meanwhile, a military locomotive was hit in Russia’s Bryansk region, and a harbor tugboat was sunk in the Kherson region.
According to independent OSINT reports, cited by United24 Media, previous drone strikes also targeted S-300 and S-400 air defense systems near Kerch.
This creates a major problem for the Kremlin, as Russia relies heavily on the peninsula as a vital southern logistics hub, making Crimea harder to defend could cripple its entire war effort.
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