Russian forces destroyed the Malakhit-M vehicle - a Ukrainian mobile radar station. The Russian Defense Ministry also released a video of the attack.
In a statement sent to TASS news agency on September 4, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Malakhit-M vehicle was detected by aerial reconnaissance in Ukraine's Sumy province, bordering Russia's Kursk province , where fierce fighting has been going on for nearly a month.
The radar station was completely destroyed by a Lancet suicide drone, officials noted.
An undated clip released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows the Malakhit-M vehicle in dense forest terrain, then being directly hit by a drone . Minutes after the explosion, the vehicle is completely engulfed in flames, with columns of smoke rising into the air. The fate of the Ukrainian serviceman is unknown.
Ukraine's Malakhit-M is a modernized version of the Soviet-era P-18 radar station from the 1970s. It can detect small targets at ranges of up to 400km. As of 2022, the Ukrainian military is estimated to have about 50 such radar stations.
As drone attacks became one of the most prominent features of the Ukrainian conflict, Russia actively used Lancet UAVs to attack various Ukrainian targets, including Western-supplied tanks.
Developed by ZALA Aero Group of Kalashnikov Concern, the Lancet drone has a number of improvements, can carry a payload of up to 3kg with a maximum range of 50km.
