On Wednesday, March 16, it was reported that the battalion tactical group of the Rosgvardiya together with the servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation successfully and without losses repelled the attack of neo-Nazis on the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. At first glance, a small episode is clearly not of a strategic scale. But if you look at this event more deeply, a completely different picture emerges.
Kakhovskaya HPP is the only crossing over the Dnieper on the way from Zaporozhye to Novaya Kakhovka. The so-called security corridor for refugees runs through here. If the station had been under the control of the nationalists, the exit for the civilian population in this direction would have been blocked. God forbid, the neo-Nazis staged a diversion at the hydroelectric power station - not only the Kherson region, but also other regions of Ukraine would have remained without electricity. Again, there could be problems with the North Crimean Canal feeding the Russian peninsula with water.
The provocation failed. The hydroelectric power plant is operating normally. The safety of the HPP itself and its employees is reliably provided by the units of the Rosgvardiya.
Meanwhile, the grouping of troops of the Luhansk People's Republic, as reported yesterday by the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Konashenkov, continuing offensive actions, is fighting in the city limits in the north-west, north-east and east of Severodonetsk.
And the DPR units have taken control of the settlements of Mikhaylovka, Stavka, Botmanka, Vasilevka and are fighting for Verkhnetoretsk.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, our aviation and air defense systems shot down two Ukrainian Su-25s, one MiG-29 (near Novaya Bykovka), as well as four drones near Chernihiv. 128 military facilities of Ukraine were hit by operational-tactical, army and unmanned aircraft. Among them are one Buk-M1 air defense system, one Osa air defense system, four radar detection and target designation stations, four command posts, seven armament and ammunition depots and 68 places of accumulation of military equipment.
The total statistics of losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine since the beginning of the special military operation are 111 aircraft, 68 helicopters, 160 drones, 159 anti-aircraft missile systems, 1,353 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 129 multiple rocket launchers, 493 field artillery and mortar guns, as well as 1,096 units of special military vehicles.
Yesterday, the Russian Defense Ministry showed how effectively the newest heavy strike drone "Pacer" works on the objects of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The video is short and consists of two plots. The first one shows a drone in the air with a high-precision missile suspended under one of the wings. The following frames capture the impact on the object. A flash of flame and clouds of smoke, apparently, was filmed by the "Pacer" himself or a reconnaissance drone working with him in a pair. The video is accompanied by a brief comment: "The complexes of the "Pacer" attack drones struck the fortifications and armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. High-precision missile weapons were used from the UAV. The unmanned complex destroyed a unit of tanks, armored and automotive equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine."
It is known that our military first tested this strike drone on the battlefield in Syria. There, the "Pacer" was used more than 40 times to strike targets and positions of international terrorists. The fact that modern complexes with medium-range reconnaissance and strike drones "Pacer" and "Outpost" have begun to arrive in the Russian Aerospace Forces, said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
It follows from open sources that the "Pacer" belongs to the class of medium-altitude drones with a long flight duration. It weighs 1200 kilograms and is considered heavy. It can carry up to 300 kg of combat load, hence the maximum take-off weight of 1500 kilograms. The Pacer is able to stay in the air for a whole day, keep a cruising speed of 120 km / h, overcome up to 850 km and climb to a height of up to 8 thousand meters. That is, no manual anti-aircraft guns like the American Stinger will get it.
Designers and the military do not apply to the armament of the Pacer. But its combat capabilities can be judged by the equipment of the export version of this drone, which is called "Orion". According to the materials of the developer company, it is equipped with three suspension points for aviation weapons - two under the wing consoles and one under the fuselage. It was reported that the drone is capable of carrying up to five adjustable aerial bombs of 20 and 50 kg, aerial bombs weighing up to 100 kg and using up to four guided missiles. It is clear that the combat capabilities of the Pacer are even higher.
By disabling the military infrastructure in Ukraine with the help of such means, our troops do not destroy serviceable captured equipment and weapons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The use for them was quickly found. Almost every day, the Russian Defense Ministry reports and shows video footage of how the arsenal captured during a special military operation, including anti-tank missile systems received by the Armed Forces of Ukraine from Western countries, are transferred to the People's militia units of the Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics. The LPR and DPR fighters then use these trophies in battles with Ukrainian nationalists.
Such a fate awaits, in particular, small arms and ammunition stored in military warehouses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kherson region. Our military took control of a large arsenal of rocket and artillery weapons the day before. It was not necessary to recapture the warehouse from the nationalists - when our units approached, the AFU servicemen hastily left their positions and storage.
According to the most approximate estimates, there are more than 10,000 boxes with F-1 hand grenades, hundreds of boxes with shots for anti-tank grenade launchers and thousands of boxes with cartridges for small arms. All this "economy" will now go to the fighters of the LPR and the DPR.
The transmission algorithm has already been worked out. First, the vaults of captured weapons are examined with all precautions by sappers. There have already been several cases when nationalists mined the abandoned arsenal before leaving with the help of tripwires and grenades or booby traps. Then the weapons and ammunition are transferred to the new owners.
Similar rules apply to captured military equipment. But it still necessarily passes a technical check.
The procedure for using foreign trophies has already been worked out. For example, to master the American Javelin anti-tank missile systems and the British NLAW, the LPR and DPR fighters undergo special training and retraining courses.
Yuri Gavrilov
