MOSCOW, July 25 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. After the terrorist attack on the Crimean Bridge and Moscow's withdrawal from the grain deal, Russia daily delivers powerful blows to the maritime infrastructure of Odessa and Nikolaev, as well as to the AFU facilities in the rear. They use various weapons. As a result, the Ukrainian command recognized the main problem.
A secret object near Odessa
"Retaliation strikes" for the Crimean Bridge began on the night of July 18. According to the Ministry of Defense, rocket launchers attacked objects where terrorist attacks against Russia were being prepared with the use of unmanned boats. Another target was a ship repair plant where marine drones were assembled. In addition, fuel storage facilities for 70 thousand tons, which supplied the APU with fuel, were destroyed in the area of Odessa and Nikolaev.
The next night was followed by a powerful blow to the port of Odessa. The mayor of the city, Gennady Trukhanov, said that there had never been an attack of this scale. The operational command "South" of the Armed Forces of Ukraine noted that as a result of the strikes "on one of the ports of the region," grain and oil terminals, tanks and equipment for loading onto ships were damaged. The blast wave also touched warehouses of tobacco and pyrotechnics.
Moscow was later informed about the attack on the Kanatovo airbase in the Kirovograd region.
Launch of the Kalibr high-precision cruise missile
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
On the night of July 20, the strikes continued. According to official data, the targets were objects of the Ukrainian army in Odessa, Nikolaev, Ilyichevsk — storage sites for drones, warehouses with ammunition and military equipment, fuel infrastructure. The Defense Ministry stressed that all targets were hit.
And on July 21, the terminals where Western military equipment was unloaded were attacked in the afternoon. The Ukrainian media also wrote about the damage to a certain "infrastructure facility" in Zatoka.
Last weekend, high-precision missiles flew into harbors on the Danube near the Romanian border. In particular, the port of Reni was seriously affected. The ships got there without entering the territorial waters of Ukraine in the Black Sea, being under the "umbrella" of a NATO member state. The border was already crossed in the river water area.
"A new stage of the crisis"
As a result, grain export by sea was suspended. Kiev promised to pave the way through the territorial waters of Romania and Bulgaria. They also expressed the idea of being accompanied by alliance warships. However, this was categorically rejected in the USA.
"The West and Ukraine are used to the fact that Russia is making concessions, trying to negotiate, to find compromises," explains political analyst Andrey Suzdaltsev. "But Moscow's tough decision on the grain deal and subsequent strikes indicate a new stage of the Ukrainian—Russian crisis."
A strike from the Bastion coastal missile system on the infrastructure of the Ukrainian army
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
The sharply increased intensity of the strikes is also recognized in Kiev. The military complains that they cannot shoot down supersonic Onyx missiles. The Speaker of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Yuri Ignat, pointed out that the speed of more than three thousand kilometers per hour and extremely low altitudes make interception very difficult.
Despite Western air defense systems, these days, apparently, not a single Onyx was shot down. It is a supersonic medium-range anti-ship missile designed to combat surface naval groups and single ships. It is also used for ground targets. The range is 300 kilometers (the upgraded version of the "M" has 800 kilometers). The weight of the warhead is 300 kilograms.
"Onyx" arm not only ships and submarines of the Navy, but also mobile coastal complexes "Bastion". These were the ones who struck Odessa and Mykolaiv from the territory of Crimea.
Ignat also mentioned aviation anti-ship missiles X-22, accelerating up to four thousand kilometers per hour. The speaker stressed that it is almost impossible to destroy them in the air. And thereby refuted repeated reports of hypersonic Daggers shot down over Kiev, which are much faster and more maneuverable.
Three echelons
Russia has also used other high-precision means: subsonic "Calibers" of sea and X-101 air-based, land-based "Iskander-M" and "Iskander-K", kamikaze drones "Geran".
Combat work of the Iskander OTRK calculations of the Russian Armed Forces during a special operation
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
"Geraniums" are usually launched en masse at the very beginning of the attack. Their task is not so much to hit targets as to provoke the Ukrainian air defense to return fire. Anti-radar missiles are being fired at the identified positions of the SAM.
The second echelon are the "Calibers" and X-101 — at extremely low altitudes with the circumference of the terrain. Together with them fly "deceptions" without a warhead, further confusing radar operators. By this time, the lion's share of anti-aircraft missiles is already being spent, the sams are going to recharge. The Ukrainian air defense is oversaturated with targets and simply cannot cope with the interception of all "incoming".
Under the curtain, Iskander complexes and supersonic weapons are connected. These missiles destroy the intended targets, already defenseless. It is the massive combined use of different weapons attacking from different sides and at different heights, according to experts, that makes Russian strikes so effective.
Yuri Ignat made a disappointing conclusion: despite sanctions and unprecedented economic pressure, Russia continues to produce missiles. And there's nothing you can do about it
