Ukraine Zeroes In on Russia’s Prized Buk Air Defense Systems

Ukraine has taken out a Russian Buk air defense system, according to Kyiv’s defense ministry, marking the latest in a string of apparently successful Ukrainian hits on Moscow’s prized air defense asset.

Kyiv “destroyed” one of the Buk systems at an unspecified location in the war-torn country, the Ukrainian government said on Wednesday, posting a brief clip it said showed the dramatic strike.

The video, which Ukraine said was filmed by the country’s 14th Separate Regiment, appears to be the view from a Ukrainian airborne drone and features a large explosion that sends a huge plume of smoke across the landscape.

Newsweek could not independently verify when and where the footage was filmed and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

On Monday, Ukrainian special forces said they had taken out one of Russia’s Buk-M2 anti-aircraft missile systems and a radar with a U.S.-provided HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

Ukraine successfully targeted two of Russia’s Buk systems in the south and east of the country within a week in late November, Ukrainian officials said in early December.

Ukraine has been hunting Russia’s network of air defenses like the medium-range Buk. It has also channeled its resources into eliminating Russia’s short-range ground-based air defenses like the Tor systems and longer-range defenses, such as the S-300s and S-400s which Moscow has used extensively against Ukraine.

“The efforts of both Russia and Ukraine to overcome their adversary’s ground-based air defense systems continue to be one of the most important contests of the war,” the British Defense Ministry said on December 3, 2023.

The Buk can be either tracked or wheeled and is designed to take down enemy aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and other targets, according to the U.S. military.

Since it went into service, the Buk missile system has been repeatedly upgraded, and Russia’s armed forces started using the Buk-M2—also known as the SA-17 Grizzly—in 2008.

The Buk-M2 can engage aerial targets from a distance of between 3 kilometers, or just under 2 miles, and 45 kilometers (28 miles), according to Russian state exporter, Rosoboronexport.

At the beginning of 2023, Russia had around 200 Buk-M1s, also known as the SA-11 Gadfly, and around 90 Buk-M2s, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies. It also had around 60 of its later-model Buk-M3s, also referred to as an SA-27, according to the London-based think tank.

It is difficult to get an accurate picture of Russian Buk losses in mainland Ukraine and on the annexed Crimean peninsula. Between February 2022 and the start of October 2023, Russia lost a confirmed two command posts for the Buk and 57 TEL (transporter erector launchers) and TELAR (transporter erector launcher and radars) for firing missiles, according to open-source images compiled by the Dutch open-source outlet, Oryx.

In the same period, Russia lost seven radars for the various Buk systems, per this count. The true figure is likely to be higher, as this only includes visually-verified losses and excludes the last few months of the war.