UK MoD: Russia has moved its S-400 air defense systems from Kaliningrad to the combat zone to compensate for the loss of these systems

Russia is likely to have moved its strategically important S-400 Triumph air defense systems from Kaliningrad to the war zone in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense said in a daily update.

“The unusual movements of Russian aircraft suggest that Russia has moved air defense systems from its enclave to make up for losses [of these systems] on the Ukrainian front,” the department said.

The authors of the report also noted that the redeployment of the S-400 from Kaliningrad, which borders on three sides with NATO member states, indicates the “excessive load” that the war is putting on some of Russia’s key weapons systems.

• In September, Radio Liberty reported on the destruction of an S-400 in annexed Crimea. In early October, a source from the Ukrainian BBC Service spoke about a drone strike on Triumph in the Belgorod region, emphasizing that this was the second S-400 destroyed in a month.