Ukrainian Defense Forces attacked a remarkable facility on the russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, namely, the center of long-distance space communication which is located near Yevpatoria in the village of Vitine.
The hit is evidenced by a number of videos filmed by locals who mentioned powerful explosions and captured a large-scale fire on their cameras, Crimean Wind reports.
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There is also data from satellite monitoring of fires provided by NASA, it indicates the presence of fire foci precisely on the territory of the space communication center.
It is currently unknown what weapon inflicted this damage, and so are the results of this strike. Moreover, the list of potential armaments in Ukraine's arsenal capable of reaching Crimea is also wide nowadays. It could be drones, cruise or ballistic missiles, as well even a Sea Baby boat drone with a portable Grad artillery rocket system firing from the sea. Unofficial sources suggest ATACMS ballistic missiles were used.
As for the target itself, the said Center for Long-Range Space Communications is quite a unique object for the russian federation. It is known under the names of the 40th Separate Command and Measurement Complex, NIP-16, and the military unit 81415. Before the russian occupation of Crimea, Ukraine's National Center for Control and Testing of Space Vehicles was located there.
In 2014, russia handed the complex to its Aerospace Forces and began the modernization of the facility. As of 2017, reports stated the center had received 10 new systems and the upgrading was still proceeding. The initial plan was to spend 1.8 billion rubles on the reconstruction of one radio telescope alone: at the exchange rate of that time, cost about 28 million US dollars.
According to the CyberBoroshno community, this facility, in addition to providing communication with space vehicles, military satellites included, was also used for hosting other sophisticated radio equipment. In particular, the russians placed a Krasukha electronic warfare system on the territory of this center, which was designed to shield the complex from attacks like the one Ukraine has just effectively done.
This is not the first successful Ukrainian attack on russian space facilities in Crimea. At the end of May 2024, Ukrainian rocket artillery forces fired four ATACMS at once to destroy the space communication node near Alushta.
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