Ukraine’s security services say their elite Alpha special forces spent 2025 quietly dismantling some of Russia’s most prized air defense systems, inflicting an estimated 4 billion dollars in damage. The campaign, built on long-range raids and precision strikes, has punched a deep corridor through Russian radar and missile coverage, opening space for Ukrainian long‑range weapons to reach targets far behind the front.
What began as a series of covert missions has now been presented as a strategic success that reshapes the air war. By methodically targeting high‑end systems that were supposed to shield command centers, logistics hubs, and airfields, the Alpha unit has turned Russia’s own reliance on layered air defenses into a vulnerability.
The $4 billion claim and what it really means
Ukrainian officials say the Security Service of Ukraine, the SBU, has “destroyed or disabled” Russian air defense assets worth roughly 4 billion dollars over the past year, a figure that reflects both the cost of the hardware and the operational value of the sites that were hit. The claim centers on the work of the SBU’s Alpha special forces, who, according to the agency, focused on high‑value systems that protect key Russian military infrastructure rather than isolated launchers in the field. In public statements, Ukraine has framed this as a deliberate effort to carve out safe corridors for its own missiles and drones, not a symbolic tally of wrecked equipment.
The SBU’s assessment, echoed in independent coverage, stresses that these losses are concentrated in advanced systems that form the backbone of Russian air defenses. Reporting on the agency’s figures notes that Ukraine’s SBU is not talking about scattered short‑range guns but about integrated batteries that shield command posts, ammunition depots, and airfields. When I look at the pattern of targets described by Ukrainian security forces, the 4 billion dollar figure reads less like a boast and more like a shorthand for a systematic campaign against the architecture of Russian air defense.
Inside Alpha’s long‑range hunt for Russian air defenses
The SBU says the bulk of this damage was inflicted by its Alpha unit through long‑range special operations that combined on‑the‑ground reconnaissance, sabotage, and precision strikes. According to the agency, these missions were designed to locate and expose Russian air defense positions, then either destroy them directly or guide Ukrainian long‑range weapons onto the targets. Official summaries describe Alpha teams infiltrating deep behind the front line, sometimes operating for extended periods to track the movement of mobile launchers and radar vehicles before calling in strikes.
Ukrainian military briefings emphasize that these were not one‑off raids but a sustained campaign that unfolded across 2025. One detailed account credits Alpha with a series of operations whose “total value of destroyed and disabled enemy air defense assets” is estimated at about 4 billion dollars, highlighting how the unit’s work fits into a broader strategy of attrition against Russian air power. The same overview notes that these were long‑range special operations rather than conventional front‑line assaults, which helps explain how a relatively small force could inflict such outsized material losses.
Targeting the S‑400 and the heart of Russia’s shield
At the center of the story is Russia’s S‑400, the long‑range surface‑to‑air missile system that Moscow has marketed as a flagship of its air defense network. Ukrainian security forces say Alpha played a key role in destroying or disabling several S‑400 components, including launchers and radar units, as part of the 4 billion dollar tally. These systems are not only expensive, they are also central to Russia’s ability to detect and engage aircraft and missiles at long distances, so their loss has an outsized impact on the overall effectiveness of the network.
Accounts of the campaign describe how Alpha’s work against the S‑400 was integrated with strikes on other high‑end platforms, including S‑300, Buk‑M2, and Tor‑M3 systems, to create gaps in coverage rather than isolated holes. One synthesis of Ukrainian claims notes that Kyiv Caused Russian serious Losses by hitting these layered systems together, undermining the redundancy that Russian planners rely on. When I weigh these reports, the picture that emerges is of a methodical effort to degrade the most sophisticated parts of Russia’s shield, not just opportunistic strikes on whatever targets presented themselves.
Safe passage for deep strikes and the changing air war
Ukrainian officials argue that the destruction of these systems has created what they describe as “safe passage” corridors for their own long‑range weapons, allowing missiles and drones to reach targets that were previously too risky to hit. By thinning out Russian radar coverage and knocking out key engagement zones, Alpha’s operations have reportedly enabled more frequent and more accurate strikes on logistics hubs, fuel depots, and command centers far from the front. This is particularly important for Ukraine’s efforts to disrupt Russian supply lines and aviation, which depend on being able to penetrate dense air defenses.
One detailed overview of the campaign underscores that this “safe passage” effect is not theoretical but has already translated into successful deep strikes on Russian military infrastructure. The same reporting notes that the Destruction of these systems provides “safe passage” to Ukraine’s long‑range weapons, a phrase that captures how the air defense campaign is meant to unlock new operational opportunities rather than exist as a separate front. From my perspective, this is where the 4 billion dollar figure becomes strategically meaningful: it is not just about cost, it is about the freedom of action that comes from punching holes in an opponent’s shield.
How the campaign fits into Ukraine’s wider war strategy
The SBU’s narrative of Alpha’s successes sits within a broader Ukrainian strategy of grinding down Russian combat power from a distance, compensating for manpower and equipment constraints on the ground. Ukrainian officials have been explicit that they see long‑range strikes as a way to offset Russia’s numerical advantages by targeting ammunition depots, fuel storage, and air bases that sustain front‑line units. In that context, the focus on air defense systems is logical: as long as those systems remain intact, they limit Ukraine’s ability to hit the deeper targets that matter most.
Analysts who track the conflict note that the SBU’s claims come as Ukraine leans more heavily on drones and precision missiles to keep pressure on Russian forces across the front line. One assessment points out that The SBU is presenting its air defense campaign as part of this wider effort to grind down Russian capabilities from afar, rather than as a standalone special forces story. When I connect these dots, Alpha’s operations look less like isolated heroics and more like a key enabler of Ukraine’s shift toward a deep‑strike, attritional approach.
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