Russia Shows Off Surface-To-Air Missile System

Radar of the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system of the Western Military District in camouflage net works in a field area of Ukraine in an undated footage. The S-300V air defense system is designed for air defense of military groups against attacks by cruise missiles, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, as well as tactical and strategic aircraft.  (@mil/Zenger).

This footage allegedly shows a Russian anti-aircraft missile system Russia claims it uses to defend against Ukrainian aircraft.

The images were obtained from the Russian Ministry of Defense, on Tuesday, August 23, along with a statement claiming that the footage shows how “crews of the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system of the Western Military District continue to perform combat missions during a special military operation.”

The Russian statement also claimed: “In the course of a special military operation, the crews of the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system (SAM) provide protection for units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation from air attack weapons.

“The S-300V air defense system is designed for air defense of military groups against attacks by cruise missiles, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, as well as tactical and strategic aircraft, combat helicopters in difficult air and jamming conditions.

“In the new position areas, the air defense units of the Western Military District continue to serve around the clock on combat duty.

“The S-300V air defense radar station monitors the air situation within a radius of several hundred kilometers.”

We have not been able to independently verify the claims or the footage.

Zenger New contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for further comment, as well as the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, but had not received a reply at the time of writing.

Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in what the Kremlin is still calling a “special military operation”. Tuesday marks the 181st day of the war.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that between February 24 and August 23, Russia had lost about 45,550 personnel, 1,921 tanks, 4,238 armored combat vehicles, 1,033 artillery units, 266 multiple launch rocket systems, 146 air defense systems, 234 warplanes, 198 helicopters, 817 drones, 196 cruise missiles, 15 warships, 3,150 motor vehicles and fuel tankers, and 99 units of special equipment.

Vehicle with missile launcher of the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system of the Western Military District stands among trees in Ukraine in an undated footage. The S-300V air defense system is designed for air defense of military groups against attacks by cruise missiles, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, as well as tactical and strategic aircraft. (@mil/Zenger).

Russia has claimed that its casualties have been much lower, but provides infrequent updates on its latest figures.

General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, 49, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on Monday, August 22, that almost 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed since the beginning of Russia’s invasion.

Russia’s security agency, the FSB – successor to the KGB – has accused Ukraine of killing Daria Dugina. The 29-year-old, whose father is Russian political commentator Alexander Dugin, 60, an ultranationalist Russian ideologue and Vladimir Putin ally, was killed in a car bomb on the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday night.

The FSB has claimed that a Ukrainian woman from the Azov Regiment was behind the killing, but former Russian MP and lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev, currently in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, has claimed that the attack was carried out by Russian partisans from a group allegedly called the National Republican Army.

Ponomarev claimed that the National Republican Army is an underground group in Russia geared toward overthrowing Putin’s regime. Ponomarev said: “This attack opens a new page in Russian resistance to Putinism.”

We have not been able to independently verify either of these claims.

The United Nations’ Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has reiterated his demand that fighting ceases at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – Europe’s largest. Guterres said, on Monday, August 22, that the world was at a “maximum moment of danger”, describing the situation at the plant as critical, as shelling in the area continues.

Missile launcher of the S-300V anti-aircraft missile system of the Western Military District stands among trees in Ukraine in an undated footage. The S-300V air defense system is designed for air defense of military groups against attacks by cruise missiles, aeroballistic and ballistic missiles, as well as tactical and strategic aircraft.  (@mil/Zenger).

Russia has requested that the United Nations Security Council meet to discuss the Zaporizhzhia plant, according to Russian state-owned news agency RIA.

The United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France have urged for military restraint around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered to Russian forces after the Siege of Mariupol have accused Moscow of torture.

The only bridge across the Dnipro River in the city of Kherson, which is occupied by Russian forces, has been hit by U.S.-supplied HIMARS rockets, according to Russian independent news agency Interfax.