WATCH video of strike on Swedish-made Ukrainian anti-air system
The Russian military has found and destroyed a Ukraine-operated RBS 70, a Swedish-made short-range air defense system, footage circulating online suggests.
The system, mounted on a tripod, was reportedly detected at a Ukrainian position near the village of Aleksandropol, located to the north of the town of Ocheretino in Russia’s Donetsk People’s Republic. The RBS 70, concealed under a mask netting, was hit by a kamikaze drone, aerial footage of the strike shows.
The launcher was overturned after the hit, with a minor fire breaking out at the Ukrainian entrenchment, the video also indicates.
Sweden supplied RBS 70s to Ukraine in early 2023 alongside with Giraffe 75 short-range radars for use with the systems. Another batch of the system type was pledged for Kiev by Australia this year, as that country retired the RBS 70s in favor of NASAMS.
RBS 70s, originally designed in 1970s, boast an effective range of around 6,000 meters and provides at least 3,000-meter height coverage, depending on munitions used and the variant of the system itself. It is not immediately known which variants of the system Kiev has received from its sponsors.
Earlier this week, Sweden unveiled its 17th $443-million package of military aid for Ukraine. The donation includes an unspecified number of RBS-70s, as well as munitions for the systems.
