The Daily Populous Monday October 27th, 2025 evening edition
Authored by kyivindependent.com and submitted by jackytheblade

Ukrainian forces successfully detected and destroyed a state-of-the-art Russian Buk-M3 anti-aircraft missile system valued at $45 million, Ukraine's Land Forces reported on Oct. 26.

The Buk-M3 is one of Russia's key air defense assets, used to engage targets in the air, on the ground, and on the water.

Ukraine's "Black Forest" brigade struck the target at an unspecified location, the military said. The brigade shared video footage of the operation.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.

The Buk is a self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile system, first developed by the Soviet Union in the 1970s. In the decades since, the Soviet Union and then Russia developed several upgraded versions.

The Buk-M3 is manufactured by Russia's Almaz-Antey defense company, and canreportedly track and engage up to 36 targets simultaneously. The system is designed to target planes, helicopters, cruise missiles, and drones.

The Buk gained worldwide infamy in 2014 with the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17.

Ukraine has reported destroying Russian Buk systems in previous strikes. In September, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) reported a successful hit on a Buk-M3 in the Russian-occupied part Zaporizhzhia Oblast. In May, Ukraine's Special Operations Forces said they destroyed a Buk-M3 in an undisclosed front-line sector.

cookycoo on October 27th, 2025 at 09:50 UTC »

It slightly reduces Russian ability to protect front-line forces from Ukrainian drones and missiles, but far more importantly signals that Kyiv can now tactically penetrate and target even the most advanced of the Russian defence systems.

BarFamiliar5892 on October 27th, 2025 at 07:14 UTC »

Whatever about the cost, I assume these things are pretty hard to replace?

count023 on October 27th, 2025 at 06:49 UTC »

would love it if one day Ukraine reports this and says they took out the one that took down MH17. Be a nice little bit of Catharsis, maybe if it takes out the members of the anti air division who snuck into Donestk to take the plane down to begin with too.