On Thursday, June 5, 2025, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine published on social media a video recorded by an unmanned aerial vehicle, showing the destruction of one and the damage to two additional 9P78-1 SPU transporter-launchers of the 9K720 Iskander-M short-range ballistic missile system (DIA/NATO designation: SS-26 Stone) in the Bryansk region.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
“Iskander missile systems hit. Today, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine and other components of the Defense Forces, carried out a missile strike on the area where a unit of the Russian missile forces was concentrated.”
“A unit of Russia’s 26th Missile Brigade, operating near the town of Klintsy in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation, attempted to launch an attack on a Ukrainian settlement — likely Kyiv.”
“Thanks to effective reconnaissance and coordinated efforts between the Armed Forces and the Security Service of Ukraine, the targets were successfully struck. One Russian missile launcher exploded, and two others were most likely damaged.”
“The impact is being assessed,” reads the description of the video showing the destruction of the Russian missile system.
The incident took place near Klintsy in Russia’s Bryansk region, located about 48 km north of the Ukrainian border and Chernihiv region. It is known that the launchers were loaded with 9M723K1 ballistic missiles and positioned on launch sites. Their geographic position suggests that Kyiv may have been the intended target — possibly in retaliation for the high-profile Operation Spider Web’s and the mining of the Crimean Bridge.
The launchers belonged to the 26th Red Banner Missile Brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, which completed its transition from the OTR-21 Tochka-U system (GRAU index: 9K79; DIA/NATO designation: SS-21 Scarab) in June 2011.
Photo: Vitaly V. Kuzmin, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Interestingly, on March 10, 2022, Operational Command North reportedly destroyed a Russian battalion of the 9K720 Iskander-M system in the Chernihiv region — marking the first combat loss of this system in history.
In early June of this year, Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense (HUR MO) reported that Russia currently possesses a stockpile of approximately 600 9M723K1 missiles for the Iskander-M system. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, thousands of these missiles have been launched at military and civilian targets in Ukraine (many of which were intercepted; just last night, one missile was launched). Current monthly production is estimated at 60–70 missiles. Regarding launchers, the Russian Ground Forces reportedly had around 150 units deployed across fourteen missile brigades, while the Navy (VMF) possessed an additional 12 launchers.
The 9M723K1 ballistic missile is 7.3 meters long, has a base diameter of 0.92 meters, and a launch weight of 3,800–4,020 kg, of which 480–700 kg is the warhead. The warhead can be high-explosive, cluster, penetrating, fuel-air explosive, or nuclear. The system’s range is estimated to be at least 860 km, as indicated by test missile debris found in Kazakhstan — significantly farther than the previously declared Russian figure of 500 km. A longer-range variant, informally referred to as Iskander-1000, is reportedly under development.
There is also a cruise missile variant of the system, the Iskander-K, equipped with 9M728 missiles (DIA/NATO designation: SSC-7 Screwdriver), based on the Novator R-500 system, with an officially stated range of 490 km. However, Western analysts suspect these missiles are derived from the sea-launched 3M-14 Kalibr-NK system, meaning their actual range could be much greater — possibly 2,000 to 2,500 km.
Уражено установки ОТРК "Іскандер"
Сьогодні підрозділи Збройних Сил України, у взаємодії зі Службою безпеки України та іншими складовими Сил оборони, завдали ракетного удару по району зосередження підрозділу ракетних військ рф. pic.twitter.com/0Q349kFVdm
— Генеральний штаб ЗСУ (@GeneralStaffUA) June 5, 2025