Direct proof of use
The clearest public evidence for the 1RL257 Krasukha-4 in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War comes from the full-scale invasion phase. The War Zone reported on March 22, 2022 that Ukrainian troops captured what appeared to be the containerized command-post module of a Krasukha-4 mobile electronic-warfare system outside Kyiv, and Oryx separately listed a Russian 1RL257 Krasukha-4 command post as visually documented captured equipment.
The capture evidence places Krasukha-4 equipment with Russian forces during the Kyiv-axis campaign. Center for Public Integrity reporting located the captured system on the northern edge of Makariv, near Kyiv, and described it as a Russian system brought by the invading army.
Sources: TWZ Ukraine Captured Krasukha-4 Module, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses in Ukraine, Center for Public Integrity Krasukha Capture
Dated reports
The March 2022 capture near Kyiv became the first dated incident in this record. It documented the command-post portion of the Krasukha-4 system rather than a complete two-vehicle set, so the evidence is strongest for Russian deployment and battlefield loss, not for a specific jamming engagement.
On November 2, 2023, Army Recognition reported that Ukrainian forces destroyed a Russian Krasukha-4 electronic-warfare system in Zaporizhia region after a video surfaced on November 1. The same report stated that Oryx had verified the earlier March 2022 recovered Krasukha-4 system near Kyiv.
In March and April 2024, reporting described continued Russian Krasukha-4 use away from the initial Kyiv approach. The Kyiv Independent wrote that Krasukha-4 was being used in Donbas and southern Ukraine, and Army Recognition described Russian forces actively using Krasukha-4 in Ukraine to scan airspace and disrupt Ukrainian reconnaissance UAV radars.
Sources: TWZ Ukraine Captured Krasukha-4 Module, Army Recognition Krasukha-4 JDAM Strike, Kyiv Independent Electronic Warfare Arms Race, Army Recognition Krasukha Ukraine Analysis, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses in Ukraine
Operational role
Krasukha-4 appears in the conflict as a Russian ground-based electronic-warfare system rather than a strike weapon. ICDS identifies 1RL257 Krasukha-C4 as a system designed to jam X/Ku-band fire-control radars, while The War Zone described the captured module as part of a system primarily intended to detect and jam large radars on aircraft and satellites.
The wider Russian electronic-warfare context predates the full-scale invasion. ICDS assessed that Russia used electronic warfare extensively in Crimea and the Donbas, and that Russian and proxy forces created a hostile EW environment for Ukrainian forces. Those passages support the broader EW setting, but the public Krasukha-4-specific incidents in this record are the 2022 Kyiv-area capture, the 2023 Zaporizhia destruction report, and 2024 reporting on Donbas and southern Ukraine use.
The conflict record therefore separates confirmed possession and deployment evidence from claims about individual electronic effects. Capture and loss sources document Russian Krasukha-4 equipment in the theater; later reporting attributes active Russian use to airspace scanning, radar disruption, communications interference, and counter-UAV effects.
Sources: ICDS Russia EW Capabilities Report, TWZ Ukraine Captured Krasukha-4 Module, Kyiv Independent Electronic Warfare Arms Race, Army Recognition Krasukha Ukraine Analysis, Army Recognition Krasukha-4 JDAM Strike
