Colonel Khodarenok linked the UAV attack on Moscow with the failures of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
On the night of August 21, air defense systems shot down 45 Ukrainian drones over Russia, 11 of them only over the Moscow region. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has already called the incident one of the largest attempts to attack the city of all time. Why the Armed Forces of Ukraine resumed attempts to strike the capital of Russia - in the material of "Gazeta.Ru».
In total, over the past night, the air defense forces of the Russian Aerospace Forces hit 23 UAVs over the Bryansk region, 11 over Moscow, six over Belgorod, three over Kaluga and two more over Kursk. There is no significant destruction and casualties among the civilian population.
Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, describing the intensity of the AFU UAV raid on the Russian capital, stressed that it was one of the largest attempts to attack Moscow of all time.
The question arises - what is the reason for the resumption of attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the capital of Russia with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles? One of the most likely answers is most likely the following.
The invasion of units and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Kursk region, although it led to some tactical successes, but in general, both from an operational-strategic and military-political point of view, clearly did not give the result that Kiev apparently hoped for.
Currently, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are completing the concentration of troops and forces for a counterattack, creating strike groups, increasing stocks of material assets in the required volumes for offensive actions and in the near future (there is no doubt) they will defeat the units and formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that invaded the territory of Russia.
In addition, Russian troops are successfully advancing on Pokrovsk. The capture of this city can lead to extremely adverse consequences for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Failures haunt the Ukrainian army in the Toretsk direction as well. The troops of the Center group of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation stormed the urban-type settlement of Novgorodskoye (New York) in the DPR and inflicted significant losses in personnel and equipment on the Armed Forces in this area.
Against the background of these events, the military and political leadership in Kiev needed to demonstrate at least some positive results in the combat work of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For sure, it was for this purpose that a night UAV raid was launched on the border regions and, mainly, on the capital of Russia.
But somehow it didn't work out. The air defense forces of the Aerospace Forces demonstrated very high efficiency during the repulse of this raid. There is no doubt that many of the shortcomings that were noted during the previous strikes of the AFU UAVs have been eliminated.
A retaliatory strike
In connection with the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine this night, the following can be said: The Russian army will certainly retaliate against the capital of Ukraine. As you know, "he who sows the wind will reap the storm." It is necessary to pay off the enemy. Therefore, there is every reason to believe that the impending strike of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Navy against objects on the territory of Ukraine will surpass similar actions of the Armed Forces by at least two orders of magnitude.
At the same time, you should not underestimate the enemy. It is quite possible that thousands of UAVs will be involved in such raids in the very near future from the Ukrainian side, and important facilities are likely to be attacked by continuous waves of unmanned aerial vehicles.
All the necessary capabilities for the production of relatively cheap tens of thousands of UAVs (quite possibly hundreds) Ukraine and its allies have them.
As before, the priority targets for the Armed Forces of Ukraine are the facilities of the country's fuel and energy complex (including gas and oil pipelines), airfields of Long-range and tactical aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, critical infrastructure facilities (first of all, the most important bridge crossings, including the Crimean Bridge), armed Forces groups and administrative and political centers.
This puts forward further requirements for improving the national air defense system of the country and the armed forces (both organizational and staff, and military-technical in nature), which have already been discussed more than once.
The most reliable way to wean the military and political leadership in Kiev from planning "air locust" raids is to launch missile and air strikes on Ukraine from Russia of such force, as a result of which the very idea of launching a UAV would be perceived by the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as extremely dangerous, primarily for their personal safety, that is, life and health.
The opinion of the author may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.
Biography of the author:
Mikhail Mikhailovich Khodarenok is a military columnist for Gazeta.Ru", retired colonel.
He graduated from the Minsk Higher Engineering Anti-Aircraft Missile School (1976), the Military Air Defense Command Academy (1986).
Commander of the S-75 anti-aircraft missile division (1980-1983).
Deputy commander of the anti-aircraft missile regiment (1986-1988).
Senior Officer of the General Staff of the Air Defense Forces (1988-1992).
Officer of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff (1992-2000).
Graduated from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (1998).
Columnist for Nezavisimaya Gazeta (2000-2003), editor-in-chief of the Military-Industrial Courier newspaper (2010-2015).
Mikhail Khodarenok
