Ukrainian spies have destroyed a crucial radar system deep inside Russia leaving Vladimir Putin‘s forces in the region reeling.

Ukraine‘s intelligence services, the SBU, claimed the Nebo-U system was hit by seven kamikaze drones resulting in its destruction.

Speaking to Ukrinform, the source said: “This time, the Russians have one less modernized Nebo-U system, which helped the enemy detect Ukrainian weapons and supported bombers attacking the Ukrainian border with guided aerial bombs.”

The destruction of the key radar would allow Ukraine to use its own aircraft more freely in the north of the country and blind Russian air defences in the area, the source claimed.

The source said: “The radar blindness of the Russians will help our troops conduct reconnaissance, launch drones and use army aircraft more efficiently in this area.”

The news comes amid a grim situation on the frontlines for Kyiv. Ukraine’s military chief warned that the battlefield situation in the industrial east has “significantly worsened in recent days,” as warming weather allowed Russian forces to launch a fresh push along several stretches of the more 620-mile front line.

In an update on the Telegram messaging app, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyy said that Moscow had “significantly” ramped up its assaults since President Vladimir Putin extended his nearly quarter-century rule in a preordained election last month that saw anti-war candidates barred from the ballot and independent voices silenced in a Kremlin-backed media blockade.

According to Syrskyy, Russian forces have been “actively attacking” Ukrainian positions in three areas of the eastern Donetsk region, near the cities of Lyman, Bakhmut and Pokrovsk, and beginning to launch tank assaults as drier, warmer spring weather has made it easier for heavy vehicles to move across previously muddy terrain.

“Despite significant losses, the enemy is intensifying its efforts by using new units [equipped with] armoured vehicles, thanks to which it periodically achieves tactical success,” Syrskyy said.