Russian kamikaze drone strikes Ukrainian radar station – MOD (VIDEO)

Russian troops have used a Lancet loitering munition to strike a radar station in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, the Defense Ministry said on Monday, releasing footage filmed from the drone’s onboard camera.

The station was identified as an ST-68. The E-band airspace surveillance radar was originally designed in the USSR in the 1970s, and had been upgraded several times over the years. It is normally used to identify low-flying targets for air defense systems.

The video shows what appears to be the station with its phased-array antenna in upright position, indicating active deployment. The same piece of hardware was later filmed from another drone, showing flames and evidence of damage, with the antenna visibly tilted to one side.

The ministry said Ukrainian troops had been “blinded” by the attack, but did not identify the location of the strike. The ZALA Lancet has a reported effective range of up to 50km, depending on the model.

The Ukrainian region where the strike was conducted borders Russia’s Kursk Region. Earlier this month, Kiev launched a cross-border incursion into the neighboring Russian region in what Ukrainian officials claimed was an attempt to establish a “security buffer” along the border.

Over the weekend, Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky claimed that the incursion had pre-empted a Russian offensive towards Sumy. Kiev had previously stated several goals in the operation, including gaining a stronger hand for eventual peace negotiations with Russia, showing Western nations and the Ukrainian public that its military can still go on the offensive, and instilling fear in Russian society in order to exert pressure on Moscow.

As of Monday, the Russian military had estimated Ukrainian losses in the Kursk offensive at over 6,200 troops, 73 tanks, hundreds of other armored vehicles and dozens of various heavy weapons, including multiple rocket launch systems.