Direct proof of use
Russian state-linked reporting on January 2, 2024, citing the Russian Ministry of Defence, said Russian forces were using the 1K148 Yastreb-AV in the Ukraine war zone with artillery units. The same reporting described Yastreb-AV as a phased-array artillery reconnaissance radar that tracks projectile trajectories, calculates artillery firing coordinates, and passes those coordinates to Russian artillery or other strike systems.
Ukrainian reporting the same day documented a Russian Yastreb-AV found by a UAV crew from the 73rd Naval Centre of Ukraine's Special Operations Forces on a southern front. Ukrainska Pravda, citing Ukrainian SOF, reported that Ukrainian forces attacked the system with HIMARS and destroyed it, connecting the Russian fielding announcement to a battlefield loss claim on the day the system's use was publicly reported.
Sources: RIA Novosti Yastreb-AV fielding report, Sputnik Yastreb-AV fielding report, Ukrainska Pravda January 2024 Yastreb-AV strike
Documented losses and appearances
Further open reporting placed Russian Yastreb-AV systems in several sectors of the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War after the initial January 2024 episode. LIGA.net reported a July 23, 2024 HIMARS strike against a Russian Yastreb-AV in the Donetsk sector, with footage attributed to Ukraine's 14th Separate Regiment of Unmanned Aviation Systems and shared by the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office.
In October 2024, StopCor reported that Ukraine's 15th Separate Artillery Reconnaissance Brigade "Chornyi Lis" destroyed a Russian 1K148 Yastreb-AV near Karaichne in Luhansk Oblast with a HIMARS strike corrected by a Shark UAV. ArmyInform later reported a June 2025 strike by Ukraine's 413th Raid Battalion of the Unmanned Systems Forces against a Russian Yastreb-AV. In March 2026, Ukrainska Pravda and Defence Express reported that Lasar's Group of Ukraine's National Guard destroyed a Russian 1K148 Yastreb-AV in Luhansk Oblast, while noting that the exact operation date was not disclosed.
Sources: LIGA.net July 2024 Yastreb-AV strike, StopCor October 2024 Yastreb-AV destruction, ArmyInform June 2025 Yastreb-AV strike, Ukrainska Pravda March 2026 Yastreb-AV destruction, Defence Express March 2026 Yastreb-AV destruction
Battlefield role
The documented Russian role was counter-battery reconnaissance and targeting support rather than direct fire. Russian reporting described the radar's purpose as locating Ukrainian artillery firing positions for follow-on attack, while Ukrainian reports of strikes against Yastreb-AV treated it as a rare, high-value radar target behind or near the front.
The available record shows possession, fielding, and multiple loss claims by sector rather than a complete order of battle. The strongest directly supported claims are that Russia fielded Yastreb-AV with artillery units in Ukraine, that Ukraine identified and attacked Russian systems in southern Ukraine, the Donetsk sector, and Luhansk Oblast, and that Ukrainian units used HIMARS, UAV reconnaissance, and drone attacks in several documented engagements against the radar.
Sources: RIA Novosti Yastreb-AV fielding report, Ukrainska Pravda January 2024 Yastreb-AV strike, LIGA.net July 2024 Yastreb-AV strike, Ukrainska Pravda March 2026 Yastreb-AV destruction
