Ukraine’s Intel Strikes Russian Bastion Missile System in Crimea

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) said Friday that its forces had struck a Russian Bastion coastal missile system in occupied Crimea, a platform used to launch Oniks and Zircon missiles against Ukraine. The operation was carried out in August by Group 13, a HUR special unit, according to a statement released by the agency.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “Group 13 specialists successfully struck a Russian Bastion coastal missile system — a carrier of Zircon and Oniks missiles that the aggressor state uses for terrorist attacks against Ukraine,” HUR said. The agency also said its operators had destroyed or damaged two Russian fuel trucks and a command-and-staff vehicle on the peninsula. HUR released footage that it said showed the strikes. The agency did not disclose the operation’s exact location, the weapons used or the extent of the damage to the Bastion system. The Bastion is a Russian mobile coastal defense system originally designed to engage naval targets. Russia has also used the system to launch missiles at targets inside Ukraine. Russian forces have adapted Bastion-M systems to launch 3M22 Zircon missiles from land. The missile was initially developed for deployment from Russian nuclear-powered submarines and Project 22350 frigates. Russian forces have also used Bastion systems in Crimea to launch P-800 Oniks anti-ship missiles against ground targets in Ukraine. The latest reported strike follows other Group 13 operations against Russian military equipment in Crimea. In early August, the unit struck two S-400 air defense launchers and an antenna used to control Orion drones, according to HUR. The agency said the operation involved Magura multipurpose maritime platforms carrying FPV drones. Other Topics of Interest Fuel, Energy Crisis in Strategic Russia-Occupied Crimea Worsening Drivers are irate waiting hours in queues at fuel stations that still run out of gasoline. One woman reported she had to out-sprint dozens of fellow motorists to score a prized fuel ration card. Russia seized and illegally annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv has repeatedly targeted Russian military facilities on the peninsula during Moscow’s full-scale invasion. “The occupiers have nowhere to hide,” HUR said. “The armed struggle continues.” Last year, a Kyiv Post journalist sat down with “Thirteen,” the commander of special unit Group 13, the team behind the Magura sea drones. He revealed how the unit carried out its first strikes on Russian ships, how naval drone warfare evolved in 2024 and why the Black Sea remains a key battlefield in Russia’s war against Ukraine. “We started from zero — no equipment, no resources — but we built something that changed the course of the war at sea,” he said.