Ukrainian Ghosts Unit Destroys Russia’s RT-70 Space Comms Hub for GLONASS in Crimea

The Ghosts (Prymary) unit of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (DIU) carried out an operation against key air navigation facilities and the Russian GLONASS system in occupied Crimea.

The DIU press service released a video of the strike.

According to the intelligence report, kamikaze drones hit the Utes-T radar system, which is used for air traffic control. Without it, managing both civilian and military flights becomes significantly more difficult.

Another target was the MR-10 coastal defense radar station, developed in the 1970s. Its mobile version is known as “Mys.”

The MR-10 tracks and identifies surface ships and high-speed small targets at sea and in coastal areas. It can detect large and medium vessels at a range of up to 200 kilometers and smaller craft at up to 19 kilometers. Its destruction could aid naval drone operations.

The radar also determines target coordinates and movement parameters in both relative and geographic coordinate systems, transmitting the data to automated information systems. It can also be used to guide ships through narrow passages, straits or anchorages.

In addition, a 96L6-AP all-altitude detection radar, part of the S-400 air defense system, was struck.

The DIU highlighted the destruction of two strategically important navigation facilities — the GLONASS satellite navigation antenna system and the RT-70 (P-2500) radio telescope in Yevpatoria.

The radio telescope had been converted into a command and measurement center for the Russian Space Forces. In December 2014, a “jamming-resistant information and computing system” was launched there to track and adjust tasks for the GLONASS satellite system.

The system collects data from the satellite constellation, cross-checks it with information from other regions, and corrects accuracy and coordinates. It also plays a key role in Russian military aviation navigation, making flights more difficult without it.

Militarnyi previously reported that the Ghosts struck a Russian Project 21631 Buyan-M missile ship in the Sea of Azov. Vessels of this class carry Kalibr cruise missiles, which Russia has used to strike Ukraine since 2022.