(LUHANSK REGION, UKRAINE) – Ukrainian drone units say they have destroyed two Russian Tor M2 short range air defence systems in separate strikes in occupied regions of eastern and southern Ukraine during March.
The attacks were reported by the Ukrainian drone formation known as Birds of Magyar. According to the unit, the two systems were the 22nd and 23rd Russian air defence systems destroyed by its operators between 1 March and 16 March.
One Tor M2 system was destroyed by drone pilots from the 9th Battalion Kairos of the 414th Separate Brigade, also known as the Birds of Magyar. The strike took place near the settlement of Korobchyne in Russian occupied territory of Luhansk region.
The second Tor M2 system was destroyed by drone operators from the 413th Separate Battalion Raid. That strike occurred near the settlement of Balashivka in Russian occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia region.
Ukrainian operators said both air defence systems were located and struck by drone pilots during reconnaissance and strike missions carried out in occupied areas.
Military sources linked to the drone units say Russian forces are increasingly experiencing a weakening of their short range air defence coverage after repeated losses of Tor systems and similar equipment.
According to the operators, Russian forces have attempted to compensate for these losses by deploying decoy targets designed to draw Ukrainian drones away from real air defence systems.
The units reported that these decoys can sometimes appear convincing on radio monitoring equipment, producing signals intended to resemble real radar emissions.
However, Ukrainian operators say such decoys can still be identified through reconnaissance. One example cited by the unit was a dummy radar installation resembling a powerful radar system normally associated with the S 300 air defence network.
The decoy was discovered in Russian occupied territory of Donetsk region near the settlement of Shyroka Balka.
Ukrainian drone operators say the presence of such a decoy indicates that a genuine air defence radar may be operating somewhere nearby.
According to the unit, the discovery of the false radar target suggests that an operational system is likely positioned in the area and could be targeted in a future strike.
The drone formation maintains an online record of Russian equipment destroyed by its units, which it refers to as the SBS score board.
The latest strikes were reported on 16 March by the commander of the Birds of Magyar drone unit, who uses the call sign Magyar.
