The Buk is a family of self-propelled, medium-range surface-to-air missile systems developed by the Soviet Union and its successor state, the Russian Federation, and designed to counter cruise missiles, smart bombs and rotary-wing aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles. In the Russian A2AD network, Buk is located between the S-200/300/400 systems above and the point defense Tor and Pantsir type systems below.
The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army was an army of the Soviet Army, as a successor to the 62nd Army of the Soviet Union's Red Army, which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps.
The 1st Guards Tank Red Banner Army is a tank army of the Russian Ground Forces.
The Order of Lenin Moscow Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. Originally it was a district of the Imperial Russian Army until the Russian Empire's collapse in 1917. It was then part of the Soviet Armed Forces. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Leningrad Military District to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Leningrad Military District, a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky. The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree №141, after the Western Military District was split.
The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District. In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Moscow Military District, a decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky. On December 17, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to recreate the Leningrad Military District as a reaction to Finland joining NATO. The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree No.141, transferring the Northern Fleet under its command.
The North Caucasus Military District was a military district of the Russian Armed Forces from 1992-2010. Before 1992 it had been part of the Soviet Armed Forces since 1918. In 2010 it became the Southern Military District and lately also included the Black Sea Fleet and Caspian Flotilla.
The 40th Army of the Soviet Ground Forces was an army-level command that participated in World War II from 1941 to 1945 and was reformed specifically for the Soviet–Afghan War from 1979 to circa 1990. The Army became the land forces arm of the Soviet occupational force in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the Limited Contingent of Soviet Forces in Afghanistan.
The 20th Guards Combined Arms Army is a field army. In 1991, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the army became part of the Russian Ground Forces. Military Unit Number в/ч 89425.
The 5th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade is an air defence brigade of the Russian Ground Forces' 6th Army, stationed at Gorelovo in Saint Petersburg.
The Western Military District was a military district of Russia, in existence from 2010 until its abolishment as a unitary military command on February 26, 2024, succeeded by the newly reconstituted Moscow Military District and Leningrad Military District.
Eliot Ward Higgins, who previously wrote under the pseudonym Brown Moses, is a British citizen journalist and former blogger, known for using open sources and social media for investigations. He is the founder of Bellingcat, an investigative journalism website that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence. He has investigated incidents including the Syrian Civil War, the Russo-Ukrainian War, the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 and the poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal. He first gained mainstream media attention by identifying weapons in uploaded videos from the Syrian conflict.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17/MAS17) was a scheduled passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that was shot down by Russian-backed forces with a Buk 9M38 surface-to-air missile on 17 July 2014, while flying over eastern Ukraine. All 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed. Contact with the aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was lost when it was about 50 kilometres from the Ukraine–Russia border, and wreckage from the aircraft landed near Hrabove in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, 40 km from the border. The shoot-down occurred during the war in Donbas over territory controlled by Russian separatist forces.
Alexander Sergeevich Khodakovsky is a Russian separatist paramilitary commander who is the commander of the Vostok Battalion, which formed in early May 2014 during the early phases of the War in Donbas.
Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT). It was founded by British citizen journalist and former blogger Eliot Higgins in July 2014. Bellingcat publishes the findings of both professional and citizen journalist investigations into war zones, human rights abuses, and the criminal underworld. The site's contributors also publish guides to their techniques, as well as case studies.
The 3rd Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War.
The 4th Guards Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division was an anti-aircraft artillery division of the Soviet Union's Red Army during World War II and the Soviet Army during the early years of the Cold War.
The 140th Borisov Order of Kutuzov Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade is an air defense brigade of the Russian Ground Forces' 29th Army in the Eastern Military District, stationed at Domna in Zabaykalsky Krai.
Andrey Valeryevich Kartapolov is a Russian politician and former army officer of the Russian Army. From 30 July 2018 to October 2021 he served as Deputy Defence Minister, and headed the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces. He had commanded the Western Military District from 2015 to 2016, and again from 2017 to 2018. Kartapolov has held the rank of colonel general since 2015. He is currently a member of parliament, a deputy of the State Duma, elected on 19 September 2021.
The 108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment was an air defense regiment of the Ukrainian Air Force, based at Zolotonosha until its 2012 disbandment. The regiment began as the 22nd Anti-Aircraft Artillery Division of the Red Army formed during World War II, which was reorganized as a brigade postwar. During much of the Cold War it was the 108th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.
The 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment is a surface-to-air missile regiment of the Belarusian Air and Air Defense Forces. Stationed at Babruysk, the regiment is equipped with the Osa-AKM short-range, low altitude surface to air missile system to provide air defense for the local air base. Before being reduced to a regiment in 2017, it was the 147th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade.
Soviet Union (1961–1991)
Russia (1992–present)
