A Ukrainian drone struck a Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system worth an estimated $50 million as it was being moved toward the front line in the Donetsk region, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said on Thursday.
The strike was carried out by the Border Guard’s Phoenix drone unit, which released video of the attack on Telegram, describing it as an example of the “new economics of war” – where a drone costing only a few thousand dollars can eliminate one of Russia’s most expensive battlefield assets.
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“Last night in the Donetsk region, our drone hit a Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system while it was on the move. The occupiers did not expect such a ‘warm’ welcome, so they were openly moving the equipment closer to the front,” the unit said.
According to the Border Guard Service, the Buk-M3 no longer poses a threat to Ukrainian forces following the strike.
The Buk-M3 is one of Russia’s most advanced medium-range air defense systems, designed to intercept aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles and drones. Its loss adds to a growing list of high-value Russian military assets destroyed by relatively inexpensive Ukrainian unmanned systems.
The Phoenix unit has previously targeted other costly Russian equipment. In March, it destroyed a rare R-416G-MS mobile radio relay station in the Luhansk region, valued at around $600,000, which was used to maintain secure digital communications between frontline units and command posts.
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In May 2025, Ukraine’s Black Forest reconnaissance brigade also destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 using drones in an operation that Ukrainian officials said eliminated another air defense system worth more than $40 million.
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