The Russian S-400 air defense system received its first official kill in the ongoing Russia-Ukrainian war.
A few hours ago, Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems were used to destroy a Ukrainian military Mi-8 helicopter. The helicopter was shot down when it was returning to the airbase after delivering strikes on the Bryansk region. At the same time, the wreckage of the helicopter was found on the territory of the Chernihiv region. To date, this is the first official use of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems since their creation and adoption into service.
“In the Chernihiv region, the S-400 complex of the Russian Armed Forces shot down a Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopter, which attacked a settlement in the Bryansk region. The helicopter was returning to the base after hitting residential buildings in the village of Klimovo ,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. As a result of the Ukrainian attack, about a hundred residential buildings were damaged, as well as 8 local residents.
Taking into account the data of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian Air Force helicopter was shot down around noon, since the attack on the settlement of Klimovo took place around 12:00. The status of the second helicopter (according to the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, two rotor craft took part in the attack), which also took part in the attack on the Klimovo settlement, remains unknown.
It was not the first time when Russia used the S-400 air defense system in ongoing war earlier on 25th February a Ukrainian Su-27 jet was shot down by the Russian S-400 Triumph Air Defence Missile System over Kyiv. Although this has not been officially confirmed.
The Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile deployed in Belarus directly shoot down a Ukrainian Su-27 fighter jet over Kyiv at a distance of 150 kilometers and a huge meteor shower appeared over Kyiv. It created a new long-distance record for shooting down enemy aircraft in actual combat by anti-aircraft missiles.
S-400 is considered one of the most advanced and potent air defence systems in the world, S-400 Triumf has the capability to protect against almost all sorts of aerial attacks, including drones, missiles and even stealth fighter jets.
The missile system is capable of taking on practically any aerial target within a range of 400km and can “simultaneously engage 36 targets“. The S-400 has four different types of missiles and having ranges between 40 km, 100 km, 200 km, and 400 km.