SBU says its Alpha unit struck two Crimea airfields and air defenses near Kerch
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said its Alpha special operations unit struck Russian air defenses near the Kerch Strait and the military airfields of Saky and Hvardiiske in occupied Crimea, in an operation the agency reported on 24 June. By preliminary data, four hangars used to store aircraft were hit at Saky, while near Kerch the strikes hit two components of an S-400 system and two Pantsir-S1 anti-aircraft missile-and-gun systems.
The claimed strikes fit a months-long Ukrainian effort to thin Russia's air defense over Crimea and open corridors for deeper attacks. The SBU said this was the fourth Pantsir-S1 its Alpha unit has hit in the Kerch area. The service published no photo or video, and described the damage as preliminary.
By the agency's account, the operation was carried out on a task set by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The SBU characterized the strikes as steadily eroding Russian control of the skies over Crimea, saying each downed system and each airfield hit widens the openings for further Ukrainian strikes on military infrastructure on the peninsula.
Saky, near Novofedorivka in western Crimea, and Hvardiiske, in the peninsula's center, both host Russian aviation used for strikes against southern Ukraine. The Kerch Strait sits at the eastern end of Crimea, where the Crimean Bridge carries Russian fuel, equipment, and personnel onto the peninsula and onward to forces in the south.
The SBU's Alpha unit said in February it had hit roughly half of Russia's Pantsir-S1 systems through 2025, framing the campaign as a way to punch holes in the air defense screen protecting Russian rear bases. Each Pantsir runs an estimated $15-20 million and is among the systems Russia relies on against Ukrainian long-range drones.
There was no independent confirmation of the latest strikes by the time the SBU posted its account, and Russian officials had not commented on damage at either airfield. Ukrainian forces have struck Crimea repeatedly in recent days, including air defenses, fuel sites, and the Crimean Bridge corridor.
