The moment Ukraine attacked Russia's Yastreb-AV radar complex (Photo: Facebook).
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on January 2 that Russian forces have begun using the Yastreb-AV radar system in Ukraine to detect artillery systems that the West has provided to Kiev, such as HIMARS.
The Kremlin said at the time: "This radar system helps Russia increase the effectiveness of artillery fire and survivability on the battlefield."
RIA Novosti news agency also said: "This is Russia's most modern radar system equipped with phased array antennas to scout firing positions."
However, just hours after Russia deployed the complex, Ukraine announced that it had destroyed a Yastreb-AV complex at a location in Kherson, southern Ukraine, using the HIMARS system.
The Ukrainian military statement was accompanied by a video showing the moment the Yastreb-AV was destroyed.
It is not yet clear how many Yastreb-AV complexes Russia has deployed on the Ukrainian battlefield.
Yastreb-AV is designed to track enemy missiles and pinpoint the exact location of enemy launchers, then relay the information to Russian artillery. Yastreb-AV works alongside other rocket artillery systems that Russia has deployed on the battlefield in Ukraine, such as the highly regarded Zoopark system.
According to Ukrainian media, each Yastreb-AV complex costs up to 250 million USD, much more expensive than Zoopark.
Both Moscow and Kiev are increasingly using radar systems to find and disable enemy artillery systems. In the context of a protracted war of attrition, hunting down and neutralizing Russian counter-battery radar systems is of great importance to Ukraine.
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