Ukrainian drone takes out $50 million Russian Buk-M3 air defense system
Photo: A Buk-M3 launcher (Russian media)
Ukrainian border guards destroyed a Russian Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system with a drone in the Donetsk region as Russian forces were moving it closer to the front line, according to the Phoenix border guard unit.
The Phoenix unit described the strike as an example of the "new economics of war", where a drone worth just a few thousand dollars can inflict around $50 million in losses on the enemy.
"Last night in the Donetsk region, our drone struck a Buk-M3 surface-to-air missile system while it was on the move. The occupiers did not expect such a warm welcome, so they were relocating the equipment closer to the front without even trying to hide," the unit said.
Ukrainian drone takes out Russian Buk-M3 air defense system in Donetsk region pic.twitter.com/1v0RqEv1xb
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) July 23, 2026
According to the border guards, the air defense system no longer poses a threat to Ukrainian forces after the strike.
In March 2026, border guards from the Phoenix unit destroyed another high-value Russian system in the Luhansk region — a rare R-416G-MS mobile radio relay station worth about $600,000, which was used to provide secure digital communications between frontline units and Russian command posts.
Earlier, in May 2025, reconnaissance troops from Ukraine's Chornyi Lis (Black Forest) Brigade destroyed another Russian Buk-M3 air defense system using drones. That air defense system was estimated to be worth more than $40 million.
