Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR) destroyed a Pantsir-S1 air defense system worth an estimated $15 million and a military crane in occupied Crimea, HUR reported. The agency's Group 13 used maritime drones as drone carriers to deliver the strikes on ground targets. Separately, monitoring channels reported explosions across the peninsula from Kerch to Sevastopol overnight on 7 August, hitting the airfield Russia uses to launch Shaheds at Ukrainian cities.

FPV drones launched from Magura platforms destroy air defense

HUR's Group 13 used Magura naval platforms as floating carriers for FPV drones. The drones flew from the platforms to strike a camouflaged Pantsir-S1 and a military crane on land, the agency's video shows. HUR estimated the destroyed air defense system at $15 million.

HUR did not specify the exact location but said the operation took place in early August 2026. The Pantsir-S1 is a short-range gun-and-missile system Russia deploys to protect higher-value assets such as S-400 batteries and command posts. Each one destroyed leaves a gap in the layered coverage Russia relies on over the peninsula.

The agency noted that Group 13 operators recently struck a Podlyot radar control vehicle and a Parol-4 radar interrogator in Crimea as well.

The Pantsir kill adds to a months-long campaign that has destroyed nearly 200 Russian air defense assets in the first half of 2026 alone by the Unmanned Systems Forces.

Overnight strikes sweep peninsula from Kerch to Sevastopol

Separately, overnight on 7 August, Ukraine struck at least six locations across occupied Crimea.

Monitoring Telegram channel Krymsky Veter reported explosions and gunfire in Kerch at 02:38. Near Alushta, four strong explosions were heard in the village of Malorichenske close to a large power substation. In Sevastopol, mobile fire groups engaged targets without an air-raid alert, and residents reported a powerful explosion near Cape Fiolent.

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Ukraine’s sea drone that never touched the shore struck two Russian radars in occupied Crimea

The heaviest strikes hit the Hvardiiske military airfield, which Russia uses to launch Shahed attack drones against Ukrainian cities. Hits landed in two waves, from 03:30 to 03:39 and from 04:34 to 04:47. A fuel and lubricants depot caught fire, and small-arms ammunition began detonating, Krymsky Veter reported. Residents described two fire sites visible for kilometers. The Crimean Bridge was temporarily closed during the strikes.

In Feodosia, initial reports of a strike on the oil depot were corrected: the hit likely landed on a concentration of Russian military equipment at the former 13th military compound on the Kerch Highway. Krymsky Veter noted the same compound was struck on 22 June. A vessel also burned at sea off Gelendzhik overnight.

No official confirmation of the strikes' results has been issued. 

Editor's note: The story was updated with comments made by Russia's Defense Ministry.

The Crimean Bridge was temporarily closed late on June 29 following reports of explosions and active air defense fire in the city of Kerch, according to local Telegram channels.

Witnesses reported hearing multiple blasts and observing Russian air defense systems in action. "Explosions heard in Kerch, Russian air defense is firing, and the lighting on the Crimean Bridge has been turned off," the Crimean Wind Telegram channel reported.

Ukraine has frequently targeted the Crimean Bridge over the course of the Russian full-scale invasion. Constructed after Russia's illegal occupation of Crimea in 2014, it is a critical supply and transport route for Russian forces to the occupied Ukrainian territories.

Traffic on the bridge was briefly halted, though it remains unclear whether the closure was precautionary or due to damage. Traffic reportedly resumed just over an hour later.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on June 30 that its air defense systems shot down five Ukrainian drones overnight over the Sea of Azov. It did not report any damage in Kerch or to the Crimean Bridge.

The incident follows a series of Ukrainian attacks on the Crimean Bridge. On June 3, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) confirmed it had carried out a third strike targeting the bridge, detonating 1,100 kilograms of explosives beneath its underwater supports.

"God loves the Trinity, and the SBU always brings what is conceived to the end and never repeats itself," SBU Chief Vasyl Malyuk said in a statement at the time. The operation, he added, had been planned over several months and caused "severe" damage to the bridge's foundations without harming civilians.

Russian media later claimed a Ukrainian intelligence agent involved in preparing the explosive had been detained by the Federal Security Service (FSB).

The bridge, also known as the Kerch Bridge, previously suffered damage in Ukrainian attacks in October 2022 and July 2023. Despite these strikes, Russia has worked to maintain the bridge's operational status due to its strategic and symbolic importance.

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