01 September 2025
(PHOTO: Wikipedia)
The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine continues to strike at the air defense system in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Among the equipment destroyed by the DIU's "Primari" special unit is the RT-70 radio telescope, which operated near Yevpatoria in the village of Vitino.
This is one of the most valuable targets among the recently destroyed elements of the air defense system, a list of which was made public by the Main Intelligence Directorate.
During the telethon, Captain Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, commented on the destruction of this radar facility:
"The radio telescope is unique in general. This facility was created back in Soviet times to control the satellite grouping in general. So it is a unique facility, in fact. Yes, there are also radar reconnaissance tools to reveal the situation, but in any case, if you want to make your way to other enemy targets, you start with air defense.
RT-70 got its name due to the 70-meter diameter of the parabolic antenna mirror. The total height of the entire structure exceeds 80 meters. The radio telescope at the Yevpatoria Center for Long-Range Space Communications was built in Soviet times. It is one of only two such facilities in the world (the construction of the third one has not been completed). Initially, the structure was intended for purely scientific research of the solar wind, quasars and asteroids, and for communication with interplanetary stations. After the Russian annexation of the Crimean peninsula, RT-70 was used to control the satellites responsible for the GLONASS navigation system (the Russian equivalent of GPS).
The radio telescope was disabled by a drone that hit the Goliath radio receiver. Since the destroyed equipment needs to be custom-made, restoring the facility will cost ten times more than repairing a mass-produced piece of equipment.
Last year, we wrote about an effective strike on the same Center for Long-Range Space Communications, where a radar was damaged.
Віктор Турецький