The Armed Forces of Ukraine hit a rare Russian “Arctic” Tor-M2DT air defense system in the Kherson region

The artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine hit the Russian Tor-M2DT SAM system.

Ukraine Weapons Tracker analysts point out that this is the first confirmed destruction of a rare Russian air defense system primarily intended for use in Arctic environments.

The Russian Tor-M2DT was hit by the soldiers of the 406th Separate Artillery Brigade named after the General-Standard-Bearer Oleksiy Almazov of the Ukrainian Navy’s Marine Corps Command.

OSINT researchers discovered that the invader’s air defense system was hit near the Chelburda village in the Oleshky urban community (Kherson district of the Kherson region).

Currently, this territory is under the temporary occupation of the Russian invaders.

The Tor-M2DT was probably hit with high-precision 155-mm M982 Excalibur artillery shells.

The video shows that after the first impact, the shell hit the front part of the two-track tracked chassis.

A combat team of several Russian soldiers ran out with fire extinguishers and tried to put out the flames.

Sometime after that, Ukrainian gunners struck again. The ammunition exploded a few meters away from the combat compartment of the Tor-M2DT SAM system launcher, which probably led to significant damage to the vehicle and the loss of the invader personnel.

The Russian invasion forces moved the Arctic version of the air defense system to Ukraine in December 2022.

The Tor-M2DT is an Arctic version of the Tor-M2 air defense system. It is completely mounted on the DT-30PM-T1 two-track tracked transporter. According to the invaders, this air defense system is designed not only to cover Russian military units but also to protect strategically important objects in the Arctic area of the Russian Federation.

The 80th Separate Arctic Motor Rifle Brigade of the Coastal Troops of the Russian Navy was the only one armed with such air defense systems. As of 2020, the Russians had 12 Tor-M2DT SAM systems.