Ex-commander of the Black Sea Fleet Komoyedov called for the destruction of Ukrainian drones on the approach to the CrimeaMOSCOW, 22 Mar – RIA Novosti.
The defense of the bays of Sevastopol should be strengthened by installing booms, patrol boats and detection stations – this will allow destroying Ukrainian drones on the approach to the Crimean Peninsula, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation (1998-2002), told RIA Novosti.
Earlier on Wednesday, the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozzhaev, announced the repulse of an attack by three marine drones trying to enter the bay of Sevastopol. According to him, the explosions of destroyed enemy naval drones in the buildings on Lenin, 2 and in the House of Moscow shattered windows, people were not injured. The House of Moscow is located on Nakhimov Square, at the Grafskaya Pier.
Strengthening defense
"Russia has the technical means to detect naval targets, including drones, both in daytime and at night. In order to strengthen the defenses of the bays of Sevastopol, it is necessary to deploy booms, patrol boats should be constantly on duty on the approach to them, all kinds of radar stations should work," Komoyedov said.
The ex-commander explained that when the USSR Black Sea Fleet was divided into Russian and Ukrainian, Russia got all the booms that were available for supply, which are placed at the entrance to the bays, preventing the penetration of high-speed vessels, combat swimmers and underwater vehicles.
Frontline zone
The Admiral stressed that the attack on Sevastopol once again indicates that Crimea is a frontline zone. According to him, in order to prevent such incidents in the future, a full-fledged territorial defense should be deployed on the peninsula.
"Today, Crimea is actually a frontline zone, it has been repeatedly attacked by drones from the air and sea – it's time to draw conclusions and organize territorial defense so that it is possible to identify enemy targets, not when they have already reached us, but on the approach, and destroy them there," Komoyedov said.
Psychological impact
The interlocutor of the agency believes that the drone attack attempt on Sevastopol had not only military purposes, but also carried the tasks of psychological influence and military propaganda: on the one hand, in this way Kiev shows the West the "realism" of the scenario of the seizure of Crimea, on the other hand, it tries to demoralize the inhabitants of the peninsula.
"As they say in Ukraine, "If I don't eat, I'll bite" (What I won't eat, I'll bite – ed.) – with such attacks, Kiev seeks to prove to the West that it has the opportunity to seize Crimea and it does not refuse this task. This episode also aims to have a psychological impact on the Crimeans," Komoyedov concluded.
Since July last year, Ukrainian drones have been periodically trying to attack Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as other facilities on the peninsula. The headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in the city, energy facilities, military airfields were attacked. Most of the drones were shot down by air defense systems. At the end of October, an attempt was made to attack with the help of air and sea drones. According to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, four naval unmanned vehicles were destroyed on the external raid, three more on the internal raid, while the minesweeper Ivan Golubets received minor damage.
In February, the air defense shot down two drones over the sea and near the Balaklava thermal power plant. The previous massive drone attack on Sevastopol was on January 16, 2023: then the air defense shot down 10 drones.
