And on the ground — in the Bryansk region — a group of Ukrainian saboteurs was liquidatedIn the area of Kramatorsk, a repair and restoration point of the VFU armament was destroyed, which contained two HIMARS MLRS combat vehicles, two Gvozdika self-propelled guns, five D-30 howitzers and special vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on December 26.
In the Bryansk region, on this day, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group was liquidated, which had explosives and German small arms with it. And the day before, the head of the Air Defense of the Ground Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, Alexander Leonov, said that 60% of enemy aircraft, helicopters, missiles and rockets were intercepted by military air defense. Experts confirm that during the special operation, the army air defense has become an important player on the battlefield.
Accuracy of the "Torus"
The Russian military air defense, as of December 25, shot down more than 160 aircraft and helicopters, 3 thousand UAVs, over 1.7 thousand different types of missiles and rockets, including ammunition from the American HIMARS MLRS and HARM anti-radar missiles. This is more than 60% of the total number of Ukrainian losses, said the head of the Air Defense of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Alexander Leonov.
— The best assessment of the effectiveness of the actions of military air defense specialists was the persistent unwillingness of the AFU pilots to fly in the areas of responsibility of our air defense systems, — said the general.
According to him, the S-3OOV4 and Buk-MZ air defense systems, as well as Tor-M2 (M2U, M2DT) showed the greatest effectiveness.
Buk-MZ Anti-aircraft missile System (SAM)
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Kirill Kallinikov
During the anti-amphibious defense, Alexander Leonov explained, the Tor-M2 air defense system and its modification Tor-M2DT confirmed their high efficiency in the fight against high-precision weapons and UAVs while on the move. Including — from the decks of ships and landing boats when crossing by sea.
Igla and Willow MANPADS, which account for a third of the destroyed manned aircraft of the VFU, have proven themselves well at the forefront in defeating suddenly appearing air targets at low and extremely low altitudes.
A special military operation has shown that military air defense from a means of combat support has become an important player at the front, military expert Vladislav Shurygin told Izvestia.
— There were a lot of discussions on the topic "do we need such a powerful air defense in the troops, built from the level of the regiment," he noted. — Now the question is not worth it. It became clear that it was needed. We saw that this is the most important branch of the armed forces. The air defense has shot down about 3 thousand UAVs, and each such drone is a reconnaissance, or a strike vehicle, or a kamikaze. A huge number of missiles were also destroyed. All this speaks about the high level of our military air defense system and personnel. They certainly passed the maturity exam.
According to the results of ITS, our complexes will be modernized and the ways of their development are already visible, the expert added.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
— In particular, it is necessary to increase the number of channels that provide simultaneous tracking of targets, — he noted. — Now the main way to overcome air defense is to overload the capabilities of the complexes. To do this, such a number of missiles are fired at the target so that all of them cannot be intercepted.
On Tuesday, December 26, at about 1:35, when approaching the military airfield Engels of the Saratov region, air defense shot down a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle flying at low altitude, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.
As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian servicemen of technical personnel who were at the airfield were fatally injured. Aviation equipment was not damaged, the military department noted.
In the Bryansk forests
On December 25, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group was liquidated on the border of the Bryansk region. Four saboteurs who attempted to infiltrate Russian territory were killed in the battle, the FSB Public Relations Center said.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
They were carrying foreign weapons: German SIG Sauer submachine guns and ammunition for them, as well as four explosive devices with a total capacity of about 40 kg in TNT equivalent.
Hunting for HIMARS
On December 26, the Ministry of Defense told the details of the battles with Ukrainian formations in the zone of the special operation.
— Up to 20 Ukrainian servicemen, an infantry fighting vehicle and two vehicles were destroyed in the area of the settlement of Kislovka, Kharkiv region, — said the official representative of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov.
In the Krasnolimansky direction, the units of the VFU were defeated, a sabotage and reconnaissance group and a mortar crew were also destroyed. The enemy's losses in this direction amounted to more than 30 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles and two pickups.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
In the Donetsk direction, Russian troops continued successful offensive operations, during which advantageous lines and positions were occupied. As a result of the strike on the command post of the 80th Airborne Assault Brigade, more than 35 servicemen, including five senior officers, were killed. The losses of Ukrainian formations in this direction amounted to up to 100 servicemen, four infantry fighting vehicles and eight vehicles.
In the areas of the settlements of Vladimirovka, Ugledar, Novodonetsky and Novoselka in the DPR, more than 40 servicemen, two armored combat vehicles and three pickups were destroyed.
Rocket troops and artillery hit 63 artillery units of the VFU in firing positions, temporary locations of the 72nd mechanized brigade of the VFU, as well as foreign mercenaries and 79 areas of concentration of troops.
During the counter-battery struggle, two Grad multiple rocket launcher combat vehicles, three D-30 howitzers and a US-made M777 artillery system were destroyed, from which residential quarters of Donetsk were shelled.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
And in the area of Kramatorsk, the VFU armament repair and restoration point was destroyed, which contained two HIMARS multiple launch rocket system combat vehicles manufactured by the United States, two self-propelled howitzers "Carnation", five D-30 howitzers, as well as three units of special automotive equipment.
During the day, the Russian Air Defense forces shot down seven drones, two HIMARS multiple rocket launchers in the areas of Rubezhnoye and Krasnorechenskoye settlements in the LPR, as well as two HARM anti-radar missiles near the Bayrak settlement in the DPR.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 352 aircraft, 192 helicopters, 2,731 unmanned aerial vehicles, 399 anti-aircraft missile systems, 7,249 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 944 multiple rocket launchers, 3,719 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 7,765 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed, Igor Konashenkov listed.
Bogdan Stepovoy