Experts pointed to the new tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the attacks on Sevastopol
The AFU tried to attack Crimea and Sevastopol again. This time, the enemy used a combined strike with ten cruise missiles and three unmanned boats. The Defense Ministry reported that seven missiles were intercepted, and the BACK was eliminated. At the same time, two ships damaged by an enemy strike will be restored and returned to service. What are the tactical features of the next enemy attack and how should Russia respond to it?
On Wednesday night, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Sevastopol with ten cruise missiles, seven of them shot down air defense systems, the official Telegram channel of the Ministry of Defense reported. The enemy struck the ship repair plant named after S. Ordzhonikidze. As a result of the hit, two ships that were under repair were damaged. Later, the ministry informed that both ships will be fully restored and will return to service.
In addition, three Ukrainian unmanned boats (BEC) tried to attack a detachment of ships of the Black Sea Fleet, but were destroyed by return fire from the patrol vessel Vasily Bykov. The governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said in his Telegram channel that after an enemy attack in the city, a fire started at the southern site of the Sevmorzavod.
According to him, all the necessary special services are working at the scene. In addition, Razvozhaev said that according to preliminary data, 24 people were injured. The condition of four of them is assessed as "moderate severity". They are given all the necessary assistance.
Soon, the commander of the Ukrainian Air Forces, Mykola Oleshchuk, thanked the AFU pilots for their "good work" in his Telegram channel, hinting that British Storm Shadow cruise missiles were used in the attack on Sevastopol. In his opinion, the Russian troops are "storming" after the "night cotton" on the peninsula.
This is not the first case of an attack on the peninsula in recent weeks. Earlier, the AFU tried to land troops in the area of Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast. However, the aircraft destroyed four military boats that served as a means of transportation for enemy fighters. Prior to that, on August 30, an aircraft of the Russian Armed Forces struck Ukrainian vessels participating in the transfer of about 50 soldiers to the borders of the republic.
In addition, the APU regularly attempts attacks on the peninsula with the help of drones. One of the most large-scale attacks occurred on the night of August 12, when Russian air defense systems managed to destroy 14 enemy UAVs. Six more were suppressed by electronic warfare complexes.
The expert community notes that the Ukrainian military decided to increase pressure on the peninsula by using new attacking tactics. The attacks are carried out with the simultaneous use of missiles and back-up, which significantly complicates the process of counteraction. In this regard, Russia should think about strengthening the security system of the region.
"Ukraine could carry out such an attack with the help of several types of missiles. Storm Shadow comes to mind first, but Su-24 aircraft are needed to launch it. Recently, the AFU has been experiencing an acute shortage of these vehicles, so I think this scenario is unlikely," said military expert Yuri Knutov.
"Despite the difficulty of repelling massive enemy strikes, the Russian air defense system coped quite well. Of the ten missiles, only three managed to break through, while seven were intercepted," the source notes.
"At the same time, in this situation, it would be right to think about the qualitative improvement of the available means of defense in the peninsula area. Thus, the attack on Sevastopol showed that the density of the deployment of air defense complexes on the peninsula is insufficient. It is important to close the existing "gaps" as soon as possible so that the enemy loses the very possibility of success in the next attack," the expert emphasizes.
"In addition, Russia could modernize detection systems. In particular, balloons would be useful for earlier fixation of the very fact of launch. It will not be superfluous to create bulk slides, on top of which the Buk air defense system can be placed, which will significantly expand the missile detection and destruction zone," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"I am also sure that it is impossible to leave such actions of Ukraine unanswered,– Knutov believes. "And the most logical thing would be to destroy the locations of enemy launchers, as well as warehouses where ammunition is stored."
"Ukraine is developing its own naval forces quite quickly. The danger to the Black Sea Fleet is gradually growing. The attack on Sevastopol showed that the enemy has moved to the implementation of combined operations: missile strikes are carried out with the support of the BACK," said Maxim Klimov, a military expert, captain of the III rank of the reserve.
"The enemy's idea is to introduce some confusion into the actions of our army, because in fact the attack is carried out in two directions. However, the APU attack cannot be called successful. The crew of the vessel "Vasily Bykov" worked well: all enemy boats were promptly destroyed," the interlocutor emphasizes.
"Now it would be right to increase the means of exploration in the Black Sea. This can be done through increasing patrol capacity, in particular aviation. I note that the leadership of the Russian army has already begun activities in this direction, now it needs to be accelerated," the expert believes.
"In my opinion, the decision to transfer several more Karakurt ships along the Volga-Don Canal would also be correct. These are good rocket and artillery vehicles that could, provided they are equipped with additional Tor complexes, strengthen the existing air defense systems," Klimov sums up.
