Ukrainian drones score first confirmed destruction of Russian Iskander-M missile system.

Ukraine’s late-August drone strike destroyed a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile launcher and support vehicles in Kursk region, marking the first verified loss of the system in the war.

As confirmed by Dosye Shpiona on September 23, 2025, Ukraine’s late August 2025 long-range drone strike resulted in the first documented destruction of Russian Iskander-M system vehicles since the beginning of the war. Fourteen drones were employed in the attack, which destroyed at least one 9P78-1 launcher and five 9T250 transport-loading trucks inside a storage hangar. The strike marks the first confirmed success against these mobile short-range ballistic missile systems, which Russia has extensively used.
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Ukrainian drones destroyed a Russian Iskander-M ballistic missile launcher and five reload vehicles in the Kursk region, marking the first confirmed loss of the system since the war began. (Picture source: Telegram/Dosye Shpiona and Vitaly Kuzmin)

The Ukrainian drone strike targeted both open-air parking areas and storage hangars at a base initially identified as the Molkino training ground in the Krasnodar region. Subsequent geolocation analysis suggested the site was instead at Shumakovo in the Kursk region, approximately 110 kilometers from the front line. Imagery released through Russian sources and reviewed by OSINT investigators showed multiple burned vehicles, including one confirmed 9P78-1 launcher and five 9T250 transport-loading vehicles. The photographic record shows the scorched remains of six MZKT-7930 heavy 8×8 chassis and a KamAZ-based truck destroyed inside a collapsed hangar structure. Fire extinguishers and buckets visible at the site indicate attempts were made to contain the blaze, but the fire consumed the vehicles completely. Analysts also reported that a Pantsir-S1 air defense system and several warehouse facilities at the base sustained damage during the same operation.

The ability of drones to penetrate hardened storage facilities, followed by the confirmed elimination of a launcher and multiple reload vehicles, represents a notable operational loss for the brigade-level unit stationed there. Attribution of the destroyed equipment has been contested. Early assessments linked the losses to the 1st Guards Rocket Brigade located near Goryachy Klyuch in Krasnodar Krai, adjacent to the Molkino training ground. However, further OSINT work pointed to Shumakovo in the Kursk region, with coordinates 51.504965, 36.630173, and identified the equipment as belonging to the 448th Rocket Brigade of the 20th Combined Arms Army. Distinctive circular arrow markings and diamond symbols visible on the burned vehicles match known identifiers of the 448th Brigade. Ukrainian Special Operations Forces had also listed the permanent deployment point of this brigade in their monthly operational reporting. Whether belonging to the 1st Guards or the 448th Brigade, the destroyed assets were part of formations previously involved in missile strikes against Ukrainian regions, including Sumy, making them priority targets for Ukrainian forces.

The Iskander-M system is built around the 9P78 launcher vehicle, which carries two 9M723 ballistic missiles and operates on the amphibious and armored MZKT-7930 chassis. The launcher weighs about 43 tonnes when loaded, can reach speeds of approximately 70 kilometers per hour, and has an operational range of 1,100 kilometers. Each 9M723 missile measures 7.3 meters in length, 0.92 meters in diameter, and has a launch mass of about 3.75 tonnes. Depending on configuration, it carries a warhead between 480 and 700 kilograms with options that include high-explosive, cluster munitions, earth-penetrating, thermobaric, and nuclear payloads. Guidance systems combine inertial navigation with GLONASS, and an optional optical terminal seeker can reduce accuracy to within 10 to 20 meters CEP. Variants such as the 9M728 and 9M729 cruise missiles, collectively referred to as Iskander-K, expand the system’s capabilities, with the latter implicated in INF Treaty violations due to its assessed range.

A standard Iskander brigade is structured with three divisions, each containing two batteries. Each battery fields two 9P78-1 launchers and two 9T250 transport-loading vehicles, supported by additional command and maintenance elements on KamAZ chassis, for a brigade total of approximately 51 vehicles. Transport-loaders carry two extra missiles each, making them essential for rapid reloading and sustained operational tempo. The destruction of five 9T250s alongside a launcher, therefore, represents not only the removal of firing capability but also of the reload capacity required for quick successive launches. This loss directly constrains the ability of the affected brigade to generate volleys and sustain missile operations during active combat.

Russian forces have made extensive use of the Iskander-M system in Ukraine since 2022. On May 24, 2025, for example, nine short-range ballistic missiles, including Iskander-M and KN-23 types, were launched at Kyiv, with six intercepted by air defenses. In September 2025, Ukrainian officials reported additional large-scale Iskander salvos, and individual strikes have damaged Ukrainian military installations and caused casualties. The Ukrainian General Staff estimated Russia’s stock at roughly 250 Iskander-class ballistic missiles, 50 KN-23 analogues, and more than 60 launchers deployed near the front by mid-2025. Russian sources place the unit cost of each missile at about $3 to $4 million, underlining the material value of these assets. Russian units have also employed tactics such as “double strikes,” in which an initial missile is followed by a delayed second attack to target responders, showing adaptation of doctrine around the system’s continued use. Interestingly, the first confirmed destruction of an Iskander system comes shortly after the first confirmed destruction of a Be-12 Chayka anti-submarine aircraft in this war, also following a Ukrainian drone strike.

The Iskander missile system also forms a significant element of Russia’s posture in both Kaliningrad and Belarus, where its deployment extends strike coverage into NATO territory. In Kaliningrad, brigades equipped with Iskander-M have been permanently stationed since the mid-2010s, giving Russia the capacity to target sites in Poland, Lithuania, and other Baltic states within a 500-kilometer range. The system’s dual-capable design means these deployments are often referenced in Western assessments of Russian nuclear signaling. In Belarus, four launchers and roughly 25 missiles were transferred in 2022, officially for use by Belarusian forces, though subsequent joint exercises involved Russian participation and rehearsed both conventional and nuclear strike roles. These deployments increase the number of potential launch sites available to Moscow and reduce the flight time to potential targets, while also embedding Belarus more firmly into Russian regional defense planning. The positioning of Iskander systems in both Kaliningrad and Belarus is therefore treated by NATO as a factor that complicates air and missile defense planning and alters the balance of short-range strike capabilities in Eastern Europe.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.