Unwitting Russian Tourist Exposes Putin’s Air Defenses in Crimea to Ukraine’s Benefit

(This Russian tourist has posted this social media photo exposing inadvertently some of Russia's main air defenses in Crimea.)

A hapless Russian tourist dealt a substantial blow to the Russian war effort against  Ukraine.

This followed after he took a photo with secretly stationed Russian anti-aircraft missile systems and exposed them by posting it on social media.

However, this earned him the praise of the Ukrainian military in an official statement.

Busting Myths About Russia’s Military Invincibility

It has been almost exactly six months since Russia’s murderous tyrant, Vladimir Putin, sent 200,000 troops to conquer Ukraine.

However, the number of Russian forces killed in combat may be up to 90,000, when troops other than the Russian military are considered. These include the mercenaries from Putin’s private armies, such as the Wagner Group, and others.

There have been a number of cases so far in which Russian troops or equipment have been destroyed by the Ukrainian defenders, thanks to inadvertent leaks of their location.

In one such case, a large Russian landing ship capable of carrying 20 tanks was destroyed by Ukrainians after its anchoring location was revealed by a Russian TV report.

In another case, a street sign in a photo posted on social media exposed the headquarters of the mercenary Wagner Group, leading Ukraine to destroy it and kill a number of fighters.

(Social media footage snapshot shows blast in Crimea)

Chubby, Sun-burned Beachgoer Leaks Putin’s Most Advanced Air Defense System

The latest such funny case has been that of a middle-aged Russian man who was a tourist in Crimea.

He managed to discover a secret Russian air defense system, take a photo with it, and expose it inadvertently on social media for Ukrainians to shoot at.

The photo the Russian tourist posted on VKontakte, a Russian social media site, contained precise geolocation data exposing the hiding place of Russian anti-aircraft batteries, all to the benefit of Ukrainian defenders.

The funny case was deemed so notable by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense that it said in a statement some Russian tourists in Crimea, such as “this man,” have “been really helpful.”

The Ukrainian military even thanked the Russian man, wishing him to “keep up the good work.”

The photo posted by the chubby, sun-burned middle-aged man shows him standing in Speedo shorts in the background of a beach. He was close to a Russian air defense missile launcher at a location near the Crimean Black Sea resort of Yevpatoriya.

The exposed Russian anti-aircraft system is of the S-400 type, which is the most advanced Russian air defense weapon in the arsenal of Putin’s embattled military.

After the unwitting tourist posted his S-400 photo on social media with proper geolocation data, the exact spot was located by internet sleuths.

The location also corresponded to prior reports about the activity of the Russian air defense system in the same area over the weekend.

The fate of the exposed Russian air defense system is unknown, but over the past couple of weeks, there have been a number of explosions in Russian military sites all over Crimea.

This includes a hit on a major airbase that destroyed at least nine of Putin’s warplanes on the ground.

The blasts caused by Ukrainian rockets and spies caused a panicked exodus of Russian holidaymakers who have been considering Crimea a direct part of Russia proper ever since Putin sneakily conquered it in a surprise attack back in February 2014.

This article appeared in BeyondNews and has been published here with permission.

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