{"id":1313406,"date":"2026-01-18T15:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-18T20:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/morningoverview.com\/ukrainische-angriffe-zerstoeren-russische-luftverteidigung-auf-der-krim-und-in-der-naehe-von-donezk\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T21:02:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T02:02:03","slug":"ukrainische-angriffe-zerstoeren-russische-luftverteidigung-auf-der-krim-und-in-der-naehe-von-donezk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/morningoverview.com\/de\/ukrainische-angriffe-zerstoeren-russische-luftverteidigung-auf-der-krim-und-in-der-naehe-von-donezk\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukrainische Angriffe zerst\u00f6ren russische Luftverteidigung auf der Krim und in der N\u00e4he von Donezk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ukrainian<\/a> forces have opened the year by tearing holes in Russia\u2019s layered air defenses, striking high\u2011value systems in occupied Crimea and near Donetsk while also hitting drone infrastructure and logistics hubs deep behind the front. The latest wave of attacks, built around long\u2011range drones and precision strikes, has destroyed multiple surface\u2011to\u2011air systems that were supposed to shield Russian positions from exactly this kind of assault. Together, these operations signal a deliberate campaign to make Crimea and the eastern rear areas more vulnerable to future Ukrainian moves in the air and on the ground.<\/p>\n

The strikes are not isolated blows but part of a coordinated effort that Ukrainian commanders describe as a methodical hunt for radars, launchers, and drone bases across the south and east. By pairing new unmanned capabilities with detailed reconnaissance, they are forcing Russian units to disperse, relocate, and consume scarce air\u2011defense assets just to keep up. I see a pattern emerging in which Ukraine is trying to turn Russia\u2019s own strategy of deep strikes and attrition back against it, targeting the very systems that underpin Moscow\u2019s offensive campaign.<\/p>\n

Crimea\u2019s shield punctured by precision strikes<\/h2>\n

At the heart<\/a> of the recent operations is Crimea, the peninsula Russia has turned into a sprawling military hub and which Ukraine now treats as a legitimate battlefield. Ukrainian officials say their forces hit Russian air\u2011defense assets on the peninsula, including systems guarding key military facilities and supply routes that connect Crimea to occupied southern Ukraine. Reporting describes how Ukrainian units used long\u2011range drones and other strike assets to reach targets that Moscow had assumed were safely protected by layered defenses, including advanced radars and short\u2011range interceptors that form the last line of protection for bases and depots.<\/p>\n

One of the most significant blows was the reported destruction of a Russian Nebo\u2011U long\u2011range radar and a Pantsir\u2011S1 system in a concentrated attack in Crimea, a strike that Ukrainian sources say severely degraded local tracking and interception capability. The loss of the Nebo\u2011U, which is designed to detect aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles at extended ranges, and the Pantsir\u2011S1, which is meant to shoot those threats down, leaves a gap in Russia\u2019s ability to spot and counter incoming drones over the peninsula, according to accounts of the Crimea strike<\/a>. Ukrainian officials frame this as part of a broader effort to make Crimea\u2019s skies more permissive for future operations, a view echoed in assessments that describe Russian air defenses on the peninsula as increasingly strained.<\/p>\n

Drone depot and air defenses near Donetsk under fire<\/h2>\n

While Crimea draws much of the attention, Ukrainian forces have also gone after Russian assets near Donetsk, focusing on both air defenses and the drones that Russia uses to harass Ukrainian cities and front\u2011line positions. Ukrainian statements say that units struck Russian air\u2011defense elements and a storage site for unmanned systems in the temporarily occupied Donetsk region, targeting infrastructure that supports reconnaissance and attack drones. The reported hits on these facilities suggest a deliberate attempt to disrupt Russian drone operations at their source rather than only intercepting them in the air.<\/p>\n

One operation highlighted by Ukrainian officials involved a strike on a drone storage site associated with Rubikon, a Russian operator that uses unmanned systems from bases in occupied territory. Ukrainian sources say forces targeted this Rubikon\u2011linked facility and a fuel\u2011transfer station in the same area, describing both as part of a network that sustains Russian drone sorties from the Donetsk region into Ukrainian\u2011held territory. The attack on the Rubikon drone base<\/a> is presented as part of a wider campaign to degrade Russian strike capacity by hitting the logistics and storage nodes that keep its unmanned fleet in the air.<\/p>\n

Forty\u2011eight hours that shook Russian air defenses<\/h2>\n

The most striking illustration of Ukraine\u2019s evolving approach came over a compressed period when Ukrainian units reported a string of successful attacks on Russian air\u2011defense systems across several occupied regions. The Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces stated that they destroyed six enemy air\u2011defense systems within a span of 48 hours<\/a>, hitting targets deep in temporarily occupied territory. These systems included both missile launchers and radar stations, and Ukrainian commanders emphasized that the strikes were carried out by drones that the Russian side had deployed specifically to counter.<\/p>\n

Another report from the same period noted that, over 48 hours<\/a> from Jan 12 to 14, the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces reported strikes on six Russian air\u2011defense systems in occupied areas, underscoring how concentrated and coordinated the campaign has become. A separate account described how The Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces used mid\u2011range drones to destroy multiple Russian systems and radar assets, presenting the operation as a showcase of how unmanned platforms can pick apart even heavily protected positions when guided by precise intelligence. In that narrative, the phrase Ukrainian Unmanned Systems<\/a> is used to highlight the specialized nature of the units now leading these deep strikes.<\/p>\n

Targets from Zaporizhzhia to Crimea: a widening kill list<\/h2>\n

Beyond Crimea and Donetsk, Ukrainian reports point to a broader geographic spread of air\u2011defense targets, including systems in the Zaporizhzhia region and other occupied areas. One detailed account describes how Ukrainian forces destroyed six Russian air\u2011defense assets in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia within a short window, including a Buk system in the Polohy district of Zaporizhzhia region and a Buk\u2011M1 elsewhere behind the front line. The description of a Buk in Polohy<\/a> and other systems being hit deep behind Russian positions underscores how Ukrainian planners are prioritizing medium\u2011range complexes that protect logistics hubs and troop concentrations.<\/p>\n

Other reporting reinforces this picture, noting that Ukraine destroyed six Russian air\u2011defense systems in 48 hours<\/a> using drones that those same systems were supposed to intercept. A technical breakdown of the strikes notes that Ukrainian mid\u2011range drones destroyed not only launchers but also radar and military\u2011industrial sites, amplifying the impact by hitting both the weapons and the infrastructure that supports them. Another analysis of the same period, framed under the heading Jan operations<\/a>, stresses that the enemy lost several valuable anti\u2011aircraft missile systems and radar stations at once, a blow that is difficult to replace quickly given production and training constraints.<\/p>\n

Strategic implications for the wider war<\/h2>\n

These tactical successes feed into a larger strategic contest over who controls the airspace above the front and the occupied rear. Analytical assessments of the Russian offensive campaign argue that Moscow has been relying heavily on its remaining air\u2011defense network to shield logistics hubs, ammunition depots, and staging areas that support ground operations in eastern and southern Ukraine. As Ukrainian strikes chip away at that network, particularly in Crimea and around Donetsk, Russian commanders are forced to reposition systems, accept more risk to key facilities, or divert scarce assets from other sectors. One recent campaign assessment notes that Ukrainian attacks on Russian air defenses and logistics nodes are complicating Russia\u2019s ability to sustain offensive pressure along multiple axes, a trend highlighted in an offensive campaign assessment<\/a> that tracks these developments.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian officials, for their part, present the strikes as a necessary precondition for protecting cities and front\u2011line troops from Russian missile and drone attacks while also setting the stage for future operations. Reports from Ukrainian sources describe how the Defense Forces of Ukraine hit Russian air\u2011defense elements and a drone storage site near Donetsk in Crimea, as well as an ammunition depot in the Zaporizhzhia region, framing these actions as part of a systematic effort to erode Russia\u2019s ability to project power from occupied territory. One account notes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces<\/a> struck Russian air\u2011defense elements and a drone storage site near Donetsk in Crimea, while another describes how Ukrainian forces hit<\/a> Russian air defenses in Crimea and a drone depot near Donetsk, underscoring the dual focus on both the shield and the spear of Russia\u2019s war effort.<\/p>\n

More from Morning Overview<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n