Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war on Kyiv has left his country’s southern border with quasi-ally China exposed, satellite imagery has revealed, with several air defense missile systems likely relocated to the Ukraine front.
AS-22, an account on X, formerly Twitter, posted a series of satellite images on July 5, showing the number of S-300 and S-400 air defense missile transporter erector launchers (TELs) at bases east of Novosibirsk, a region located in southwestern Siberia.
The S-300 and S-400 are Russian-made mobile, surface-to-air missile systems capable of shooting down aircraft, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. According to the Center for Strategic and International Studies Missile Defense Project, the S-400 is roughly comparable to the American Patriot air defense system in Ukrainian service.
AS-22, which specializes in imagery intelligence and open-source intelligence, claimed that since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, around 105 TELs deployed at 11 Russian bases have been moved. For instance, in Khabarovsk, located 19 miles from the Russia-China border, 11 out of the 17 TELs deployed at the base were relocated, AS-22 observed.
All seven TELs were moved from their base on the island of Sakhalin, located just 25 miles north of Japan’s island of Hokkaido.
Ukraine has repeatedly used long-range weapons, including domestically manufactured drones, to carry out cross-border strikes on Russian soil, forcing Moscow to strengthen its air defense capability along its southwestern border.
It is not the first time Russia has removed air defense missile systems from their bases during the war. Some that were deployed on its Far East islands of Iturup and Kunashir (Etorofu and Kunashiri in Japanese) were also removed, according to analysis of satellite images, Japan’s Kyodo News reported in August 2023.
The islands are part of the disputed Southern Kuril Islands, which are also claimed by Japan.
The report cited lecturer Yu Koizumi at the University of Tokyo as saying that the air defense equipment was likely redeployed to Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Finnish broadcaster Yle reported in September 2022 that satellite images also indicated that a number of air defense missiles were relocated from Russia’s northwestern region around St. Petersburg toward Ukraine.
Russia faces high demand for precision standoff land attack weapons as it continues to bombard Ukraine, with Kyiv claiming that Russia’s military has re-purposed S-300 surface-to-air missiles for ground attacks.
S-300 missiles used as a surface-to-surface weapon are difficult for Ukrainian air defence units to intercept because of their speed and quasi-ballistic missile attack mode, defence news website The War Zone reported.
Redeploying air defense missile systems from other parts of the country allows Russia to use them as both defensive and offensive weapons for its war in Ukraine.
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