The Defense Forces set a record for destroying Russian air defense systems in March
The first month of spring 2026 proved disastrous for Russian occupation forces in terms of maintaining their air defense and radar surveillance capabilities.
According to data from an Ukrinform infographic, in March alone, units of the Unmanned Systems Forces (USF) destroyed 41 enemy air defense assets.
This figure was part of a large-scale campaign, as a result of which the Russian air defense system lost a total of 54 pieces of equipment over the three winter months and March.
Specifically, 39 anti-aircraft missile systems and 15 radar stations of various types were destroyed.
Among the aggressor’s most costly losses in March were the destruction of the “Nebo-U” and “Nadgrobie” (64N6) radar stations, valued at tens of millions of dollars.
“In March, SBS units alone destroyed 41(!) elements of the Russians’ air defense,” the report on the results of successful operations states.
The destruction of enemy equipment spanned the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, as well as Crimea.
A significant success was the destruction of an Iskander ballistic missile system on the peninsula on March 14, with an estimated value of $100 million.
In addition to ground-based systems, the Russian Black Sea Fleet also suffered significant losses.
On March 2, the frigates Admiral Makarov and Admiral Essen were damaged in the port of Novorossiysk, and on March 18, two Project 02510 BK-16 landing craft, along with their crews, were destroyed in Crimea.
Experts are paying particular attention to the destruction of rare equipment, such as the four Merlin UAVs that were shot down on March 13.
Another landmark event was the destruction of a Ka-52 helicopter in the Donetsk region using a fiber-optic FPV drone, highlighting the advancement of Ukrainian technology.
The economic losses incurred by the occupiers from the loss of just their primary air defense and electronic warfare assets in March are estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The systematic destruction of R-330Zh “Zhitiel” stations and “Triumph” radars significantly weakens the enemy’s ability to protect its own strategic facilities.
Unmanned aerial systems struck Russian logistics facilities in the Zaporizhzhia region
Over the past day, the Russians lost 960 personnel
