Kaja Kallas: Russia using hybrid attacks to erode Europe's support for Ukraine

Ukrainian forces targeted two Russian S-400 launchers in the Vygonychi district of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, on the night of September 16-17, according to Ukraine's General Staff. The attack's impact on the launchers and the weaponry employed remains undisclosed. The S-400 is Russia's most advanced long-range air defense system, introduced in 2007, with a cost of approximately $500 million and a maximum range of about 400 kilometers (250 miles).

The General Staff also reported that Ukrainian forces struck additional Russian military objectives overnight, such as a drone base and military warehouses in Donetsk Oblast, as well as troop concentrations in Kherson Oblast and Luhansk Oblast. Russia routinely deploys S-400 systems to launch ballistic missiles at Ukraine, thus putting Kyiv's limited supply of U.S.-made Patriot interceptors under additional strain.

Ukraine presently depends on allied nations for these sophisticated interceptors, which are the sole systems in its arsenal capable of countering certain Russian ballistic missiles. In an August 5 statement, President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that Ukrainian forces would prioritize strikes on Russian missile launchers as Russia escalates its use of ballistic missiles.

Zelensky also noted that international deliveries of air-defense interceptors to Ukraine had decreased to one-third of 2025 levels.