A Ukrainian heavy bomber drone has been captured in newly released footage pursuing and striking a Russian Tor air defense system, in what pro-Kremlin figures describe as part of an emerging challenge to traditional ground-based air defenses.
The video, published by Russian military propagandist Kirill Fyodorov, shows a Tor surface-to-air missile system attempting to evade a Ukrainian “Baba Yaga” drone—an improvised term widely used by Russian forces to describe Ukraine’s large explosive-carrying drones.
“Fighters captured a situation where an enemy bomber drone pursued our Tor. This is not an isolated case,” Fyodorov wrote, acknowledging the growing frequency of such encounters.
According to his account, nearby Russian units attempted to down the drone with small arms fire, but were unsuccessful. “Eventually, the Baba Yaga decided to drop its munition,” he said. The footage reportedly shows one of the bombs hitting the Tor system directly.
While there was no detonation of the vehicle’s onboard ammunition, the impact appears to have caused substantial damage to the radar-guided launcher. Pro-Russian channels suggest the system may have already expended its missile load prior to the incident, which likely prevented further secondary explosions.
Another Russian military blogger, posting under the channel name “Voenny Osvedomitel”, noted that the encounter illustrates the vulnerability of legacy air defense systems when confronting small, low-flying drones.
“This is a clear example of classical air defense systems losing the fight against small drones,” the post said. “The current reality is that surface-to-air missile systems now require close protection from anti-drone units equipped with electronic warfare gear and small arms—just like towed and rocket artillery.”
The Ukrainian Armed Forces have been increasingly effective in targeting Russian radar and missile systems using first-person view (FPV) drones and larger bomber-type UAVs, often modified with low-cost guidance systems and commercial components.
While the Russian military maintains a large inventory of air defense systems, incidents like this highlight growing operational strain and tactical gaps in adapting to drone warfare.
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