Direct proof of use
Ukraine's Defence Intelligence published footage in May 2025 showing S-200 missiles being loaded, fuelled, raised on launchers, and fired. Defense Express identified the interceptor in the footage as the 5V28 missile and reported that the launch was carried out from a standard 5P72V stationary launcher.
The footage and reporting connect the missile to Ukrainian wartime use after the full-scale Russian invasion. Ukrainska Pravda, citing Militarnyi and Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, reported that DIU units were using S-200 long-range anti-aircraft missile systems to strike Russian military personnel, while RBC-Ukraine described the video as the first official Ukrainian demonstration of 5V28 use from the S-200 system.
Sources: Defense Express 5V28 Launch Footage, Ukrainska Pravda DIU S-200 Footage, RBC-Ukraine 5V28 Demonstration
Aircraft engagements
On April 19, 2024, Ukraine reported that a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber was shot down after a missile attack against Ukraine. The Defence Intelligence of Ukraine quoted Kyrylo Budanov as saying that the aircraft was hit from 308 km and that the same means had been used against Russian A-50 airborne early warning aircraft. TWZ reported that Budanov identified the weapon as an S-200 missile and described the engagement range from the S-200 battery as 308 km.
The claim remained contested by Russia, whose defense ministry attributed the Tu-22M3 crash to a technical malfunction. The Ukrainian claim is nevertheless directly tied to the S-200/5V28 family by Budanov's statement, later defense reporting, and subsequent DIU footage showing the reactivated launch process.
Sources: DIU Budanov Tu-22M3 Statement, TWZ Tu-22M3 S-200 Report, Defense Express Tu-22M3 S-200 Analysis
Reactivation and strike role
The 5V28 was originally a large surface-to-air interceptor for later S-200 variants. CSIS Missile Threat lists the Vega-family 5V28 as a 10.7 m missile with a 0.86 m diameter, high-explosive fragmentation warhead, liquid sustainer, four jettisonable solid boosters, and a published range class of roughly 200-250 km, with related 5V28V Dubna variants reaching about 300 km.
Reporting on the May 2025 footage emphasized the operational burden of returning the missile to combat use: preparation occurred at fixed launch positions, the missile required liquid-fuel handling, and the visible launch equipment was stationary. TWZ and Ukrainska Pravda both noted that Ukraine had also been linked to adapted ground-strike employment, but the public record is clearest where DIU footage and Ukrainian officials connect S-200/5V28 use to long-range air-defense and strike operations.
Sources: CSIS S-200 Missile Threat, TWZ Reactivated S-200 Footage, Defense Express 5V28 Launch Footage, Ukrainska Pravda DIU S-200 Footage
Transfer context
Public sourcing has not fully resolved whether the missiles and launch equipment used by Ukraine came from restored Ukrainian stocks, foreign transfers, or a mix of both. A July 2026 Defense Express report said Poland had officially acknowledged supplying S-200 systems to Ukraine, while also noting that earlier reporting had only treated the Polish transfer as likely.
For the conflict-use record, that distinction is separate from use: the cited Ukrainian footage and official statements document Ukrainian fielding and firing of S-200/5V28-family missiles in the war, while transfer claims are treated as donor context rather than proof of any single missile's origin.
Sources: Defense Express Poland S-200 Transfer
