Direct proof of use
The 5P85SM2-01 TEL appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War record as a Russian S-400 launcher documented through battlefield-loss imagery and follow-on reporting. Oryx's Russian equipment-loss list separately tracks the 5P85SM2-01 as a launcher for the S-400, listing destroyed and damaged examples among visually documented Russian losses.
The first widely reported exact-designation loss emerged in January 2023 after new imagery led open-source trackers and defense outlets to identify a destroyed launcher as a 5P85SM2-01 TEL rather than a generic S-300-family launcher. Army Recognition reported on January 24, 2023 that Ukrainian Special Forces destroyed a Russian 5P85SM2 TEL of the S-400 system, while its image caption identified the vehicle as a 5P85SM2-01 TEL with 5V55R missiles.
Sources: Oryx Russian Equipment Losses, Army Recognition Ilyine S-400 TEL, Defence Blog Ilyine S-400 Loss
Timeline
Reports place the January 2023 loss near Ilyine in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region. Defence Blog, citing Militarnyi and Ukraine Weapons Tracker, said the system was blown up on a road near Ilyine and identified as a 5P85SM2-01 launcher for the S-400 system with 5V55R missiles.
Subsequent visual-loss aggregation expanded the exact-designation record beyond the single January 2023 incident. Oryx later listed multiple Russian 5P85SM2-01 launchers for S-400 as destroyed or damaged, distinguishing them from other S-300 and S-400 launcher or radar entries.
Sources: Defence Blog Ilyine S-400 Loss, EurAsian Times S-400 Loss, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses
Narrative
The TEL's conflict role is tied to Russia's layered long-range air-defense network rather than to independent vehicle employment. The 5P85SM2-01 carries ready S-400 missile canisters and depends on S-400 command, radar, and engagement elements to provide air-defense coverage. CSIS describes the S-400 as a mobile surface-to-air missile system designed to engage aircraft, UAVs, cruise missiles, and ballistic-missile threats.
The available exact-designation evidence supports Russian fielding and losses of 5P85SM2-01 launchers in the war. It does not by itself identify which particular launcher fired on a specific aircraft, missile, or drone. Broader reporting on S-400 activity in Ukraine describes the system's operational use, but the 5P85SM2-01 record is strongest where photographs or loss trackers identify the launcher model directly.
Sources: CSIS S-400 Triumf, Army Recognition S-400 Overview, Oryx Russian Equipment Losses
