‘Turned Into Scrap Metal’: Ukrainian Spec Ops, Russian Rebels Hit Key Air Defense Systems in Rostov

Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO), working alongside the Russian insurgent movement Chernaya Iskra (“Black Spark”), is said to have destroyed Russia’s latest Buk-M3 air defense system (NATO: SA-27 Gollum) and struck a Nebo-U radar station.

The SSO said the operation took place in Russia’s Rostov region on Sept. 28.

“As a result, the Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system and the Nebo-U early warning radar station were turned into scrap metal in the Rostov region,” the SSO reported via Telegram.

Both posed a threat to Ukrainian combat aviation near the front and hindered deep strikes inside Russia, the SSO said, adding that each of the destroyed systems is valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.

The Buk-M3 is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system designed to destroy aircraft, cruise missiles and other aerial or ground-based targets.

Based on the earlier Buk-M2, the upgraded Buk-M3 uses upgraded electronics and is capable of engaging tagets at a distance of up to 80 km (50 miles), according to the SSO.

The US military database says the Buk-M3 has a maximum speed of 1,550 m/s, a maximum effective range of 70 km (43 miles), and a minimum effective range of 2-2.5 km (1.2-1.6 miles), depending on the missiles used.

Meanwhile, the Nebo-U is a Russian long-range radar operating in the meter-wave band, used by both air defense and ground forces.

Ukraine’s systematic strikes on Russia’s Buk air defense

The strike is the latest in a series of attacks targeting Russia’s Buk air defense systems.

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As Kyiv Post previously reported, the SSO has systematically targeted Russian Buk systems since the start of 2024, combining drone strikes, artillery fire, and reconnaissance to dismantle Russia’s layered air defense network.

In early 2024, several Buk systems were destroyed across the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions in coordinated SSO operations. In April, SSO units eliminated a Buk-M1 in Donetsk and used drones to destroy another Buk and its evacuation vehicle in the Sumy region.

By May, the 3rd Separate Regiment of the SSO confirmed the destruction of four Buk systems, including one hit by a newly developed attack drone.

In November, SSO forces, working alongside other Ukrainian defense units, struck and destroyed a Buk-M3 radar station in Zaporizhzhia.

Then, in April 2025, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces disabled three Russian Buk air defense systems in Russia’s Kursk region within just 12 hours.

Using first-person view (FPV) drones, Ukrainian troops struck a Buk-M2 launcher concealed in a forest, triggering a detonation on impact. Two additional systems – both Buk-M3s – reportedly had their radars destroyed, severely degrading their ability to track and guide missiles.

In mid-May, the SSO destroyed another Buk-M3 system and a Uragan-1 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) in a drone strike.

According to an SSO statement, the systems were spotted during a reconnaissance mission in an active combat zone without specifying their location.