Map Shows Ukraine's Record-Breaking Hits on Russian Nuclear Warning Sites

Russia's nuclear ballistic missile early warning radar network has emerged as a key target of long-range Ukrainian strikes, with three facilities having now been attacked by Kyiv's drones in the past two months.

Two such strikes occurred in the past week. First, a drone hit a "Voronezh-DM" radar at the Armavir Radar Station in the southern Krasnodar region on May 22. The site is home to two Voronezh-DM radars with a range of around 6,000 kilometers (3,730 miles).

The attack appeared to have damaged a building housing one of the radars, RFE/RL's Russian Service reported. The site is more than 300 miles from the closest territory currently under Kyiv's control.

The Armavir attack was quickly followed by a more ambitious strike. On May 26, a Ukrainian drone traveled some 930 miles from Kyiv-controlled territory to target a Voronezh-M radar near the city of Orsk, in the Orenburg region close to the border with Kazakhstan.

The extent of any damage at the site in Orsk is as yet unclear. But the attack may represent the longest-range Ukrainian drone strike to date, the list of targets steadily growing as Kyiv prioritizes Russia's long-range radar and oil-producing facilities.

The Kyiv Independent cited an anonymous military intelligence source as saying the drone used in Sunday's attack flew 1,118 miles; further than the 930 miles claimed in a recent strike on an oil processing plant in Russia's Bashkiria region.

Reuters cited an unnamed Ukrainian intelligence source who confirmed the dual drone strikes. Asked why Russia's long-range radars were being targeted, the source replied: "They monitor the actions of the Ukrainian security and defense forces in the south of Ukraine."

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Ukraine began its nascent campaign against Russia's early warning radar network in April, with successive drone strikes on the 590th separate radio engineering center of military unit 84680 in the city of Kovylkino, in the Mordovia Republic around 360 miles from the Ukrainian border.

The site is home to a 29B6 "Container" over-the-horizon radar, which forms part of Russia's reconnaissance and early-warning network for aerospace attacks, including those by ballistic missiles. Voronezh-M radar sites like those targeted in Armavir and Orsk are also used for this purpose.

Russia has at least five other radar sites hosting Voronezh-M systems. Two are located in the west of the country, at the Lekhtusi Radar Station close to St. Petersburg and at the Pionersky Radar Station in the Kaliningrad exclave.

Three are spread across Siberia, at the Mishelevka Radar Station near the city of Irkutsk, at a site close to the city of Yeniseysk in Krasnoyarsk Krai region, and near the Altai Krai region's city of Barnaul.

Additional Voronezh-M radar stations are planned for construction close to the city of Sevastopol in occupied Crimea, near the Arctic Circle city of Olenogorsk in Murmansk region, and near the city of Vorkuta in the northern Komi Republic, also in the Arctic region.

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