Russia has deployed its S-500, an “experimental” weapon it has never used before, Ukraine's intelligence chief says as Ukraine tracks its air defenses in Crimea

• Russia deployed its only S-500 air defense system to Crimea amid Ukrainian strikes.

• The system is “experimental,” the head of Ukraine’s intelligence service said, and has never before been used in combat.

• Ukraine has stepped up its attacks in Crimea, likely hoping to destroy Russian air defenses in the region.

Russia has deployed its only S-500 air defense system in Crimea as Ukraine steps up attacks on the occupied peninsula, the head of Ukraine's intelligence service said this week.

The S-500, an advanced system described by Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's defense intelligence directorate, as “experimental,” has never been used in combat before.

Russia has moved the S-500 to protect the Kerch Bridge and strengthen Russia's air defense network in occupied Crimea, Budanov said on Wednesday. The 19-km-long bridge, which connects mainland Russia with occupied Crimea, is both a simplified way for Russian forces to reach the area, as well as a symbol of Russia's control over the peninsula.

It has been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drones, bombs and strikes. Russian air defenses have also been targets, especially in recent weeks.

The S-500, called Prometheus, is a mobile surface-to-air defense system designed to intercept ballistic missiles and other weapons at a distance. The system is “essentially a modernized version of the S-300,” the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, said Thursday.

The S-500 has been tested several times but has never been in combat before. Russia has claimed it is capable of intercepting all weapons, including hypersonic missiles, which are extremely fast and follow unpredictable trajectories at low altitudes, but this capability remains unclear.

Russia has already claimed that the missiles were hypersonic, when they were not, and that the weapons were unbeatable, when they were also not.

The problematic development and production of the S-500, from the project's initiation in 2010 through significant delays over the following decade, raised questions about its viability as a system. It was delivered to the armed forces in 2021, but in a limited state, unable to meet system requirements.

In April 2024, Sergei Shoigu, then Russian Defense Minister, announced that it would enter combat in one of two variants: an anti-missile defense and an anti-aircraft role.

The S-500's new role in protecting the Kerch Bridge and bolstering Russian air defense capabilities in Crimea comes as Ukraine carries out strikes on the peninsula aimed at making the area untenable for the Russian military.

Since late May, attacks in the region, particularly targeting Russian air defenses, have intensified. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has reported major strikes, including one this week, hitting the S-300 and S-400 systems.

Ukraine is suspected of using U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, among other capabilities.

As Ukraine continues to target the peninsula's air defenses, Russia could deploy more air defense assets there, ISW said, “making them vulnerable to further Ukrainian strikes.” A fight of this nature could strain and exhaust Russia's air defense arsenal.

“ISW has previously assessed that Ukrainian forces could lead an organized effort to degrade Russian air defenses, which could allow Ukraine to more effectively exploit fixed-wing manned airpower (including through the use of F-16 fighter jets) in the long term,” the think tank wrote.

The Ukrainian strikes in Crimea have long been supported by the United States and its Western allies, but they come just after US President Joe Biden and other NATO leaders agreed – in some cases, reluctantly – to let Ukraine use long-range weapons to strike Russian targets in the occupied territories.

According to ISW, Ukraine could “in principle” replicate the success of its strikes in Crimea in other occupied areas if Western allies approved such strikes, thereby creating opportunities for Ukraine and degrading Russia's capabilities.

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