Direct proof of use
The clearest direct evidence comes from Ukraine's Defence Intelligence directorate, which reported that its Husi-9 special unit struck a Russian Kasta-2E2 radar near the Russia-Ukraine border on February 13, 2024. GUR said the radar had been monitoring airspace over Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, as well as Belgorod and probably Kursk and Voronezh oblasts, before the strike disabled the system.
Independent loss documentation and later Ukrainian reporting show that the 39N6 Kasta-2E2 remained part of Russia's air-defense sensor network after that incident. Oryx lists visually documented Russian 39N6 Kasta-2E2 radar losses during the invasion, while GUR and Ukrainian defense media reported additional Kasta-2E2 strikes in occupied Crimea and southern Russia.
Sources: GUR Kasta-2E2 Border Strike, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, GUR Prymary Crimea Air Defense Strikes, UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike
Timeline
Militarnyi reported on February 15, 2022, that Russia had placed a Kasta-2E2 radar near Nova Nelidivka in Belgorod Oblast, close to Kharkiv Oblast, to monitor the airspace around Kharkiv-region airfields shortly before the full-scale invasion.
On June 3, 2024, UNITED24 Media reported a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces statement that SSO operators found a Russian Kasta-2E2 during aerial reconnaissance and inflicted fire damage on the radar. On March 27, 2025, GUR said its Prymary unit hit multiple Russian radar and air-defense systems in occupied Crimea, listing a 39N6 Kasta-2E2 among the struck systems.
Further reporting in 2025 and 2026 placed Kasta-2E2 radars at Russian air-defense sites around Crimea and Krasnodar Krai. UNITED24 and Militarnyi reported satellite-image evidence of a September 2025 strike on a 39N6 Kasta-2E2 site near Anapa, while GUR reported February 2026 strikes in occupied Crimea that disabled a 39N6 Kasta-2E2 radar.
Sources: Militarnyi Kharkiv Border Deployment, UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 SSO Strike, GUR Prymary Crimea Air Defense Strikes, UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike, Militarnyi Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike, GUR February 2026 Crimea Kasta-2E2 Strike
Role in Russian air defense
The Kasta-2E2's documented role in the war was surveillance rather than direct attack. GUR described the system as a mobile three-coordinate decimeter-band radar for airspace control, target coordinate determination, and air-target recognition, including objects flying at extremely low altitude.
That role made the radar a recurring Ukrainian target as strikes expanded against Russian air-defense infrastructure. UNITED24 described a reported August 2025 strike near Khutir outside Yevpatoria, occupied Crimea, where monitoring sources said a Kasta-2E2 stopped transmitting after a drone attack. In September 2025, UNITED24 and Militarnyi reported satellite images from Anapa showing damage at a site used to cover southern Russian airspace.
Sources: GUR Kasta-2E2 Border Strike, UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Crimea Strike, UNITED24 Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike, Militarnyi Kasta-2E2 Anapa Strike
Occupied Crimea reporting
Crimea became a repeated reporting focus for Kasta-2E2 sightings and strikes. GUR's March 2025 Prymary release listed a 39N6 Kasta-2E2 among Russian radar and air-defense systems struck on the occupied peninsula, and its March 2026 release said February strikes disabled a 39N6 Kasta-2E2 alongside several other Russian radar and communications systems.
Defense Express later reported Ukrainian intelligence footage from June 2026 showing the destruction of a Russian Kasta-2E2 radar, along with locomotives, fuel tankers, and other logistics assets across Crimea. That report framed the radar strike as part of a wider campaign against Russian reconnaissance, air-defense, and logistics infrastructure on the peninsula.
Sources: GUR Prymary Crimea Air Defense Strikes, GUR February 2026 Crimea Kasta-2E2 Strike, Defense Express Kasta-2E2 Crimea Strike
