The new head of the Ukrainian Army, Oleksandr Sirski, took office this Wednesday with a visit to the Eastern Front and, within the framework of a special operation, with another sinking of a Russian ship, the landing ship 'Caesar Kúnikov', with which kyiv further weakened the ailing Russian Black Sea fleet.
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“The first thing is the front and, in particular, Avdivka, Kupiansk and Liman. Maximum attention, maximum support,” was the message of Volodymyr Zelensky, Ukrainian president.
Sirski was appointed to replace the popular Valeri Zaluzhni, who was criticized by the Presidency in recent days for contradicting some of his orders, including not giving up an inch of land in Donbas.
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Hard blow for the Russian Navy in Crimea
The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed this Tuesday the destruction of the Russian ship when it was near the town of Alupka, in the south of the annexed Crimean peninsula.
“The Armed Forces of Ukraine, together with military intelligence units (GUR), have destroyed the landing ship of the occupiers 'Caesar Kunikov',” the military note states.
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The GUR, which published a video with images of the sinking, stated that the 111.5 meter long ship was hit by Ukrainian-made Magura V5 aquatic drones.
Within the framework of a special operation coordinated by what is known as Group 13, the 'Caesar Kúnikov' was hit on the port side, after which the rescue efforts “were not successful”, meaning “the majority of the crew (.. .) died,” he said.
In a second statement, The GUR highlighted that the ship, which had also been used in the Syrian and Georgian wars, was transporting “weapons and military equipment.”.
According to a preliminary visual assessment of the operation, the ship “was loaded during the sinking.”
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Furthermore, remember that the successful attack coincided in time with the 81st anniversary of the death of the Soviet officer Caesar Kúnikov, after whom the warship was named.
“I see debris and an oil stain,” said a Russian pilot during a radio conversation detected by the GUR.
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As usual, Neither the Kremlin spokesman in his daily appearance nor the Russian Ministry of Defense alluded to the sinking, something that military bloggers did, who blamed the Navy for lack of foresight.
According to the daily report of the Russian military, its forces improved positions on the Donetsk and Lugansk fronts, regions that Russia annexed in September 2022, but does not control in its entirety.
Second ship sunk in two weeks
“As the president of Russia said at the time, 'it sank,'” said Dmitro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, alluding to the reaction of the head of the Kremlin, Vladimir Putin, when the atomic submarine 'Kursk' sank. ' with 118 crew on board in August 2000.
The 'Caesar Kúnikov', built in the Gdansk shipyards (Poland) and launched in 1986, had a crew of up to 87 menalthough it had the capacity to transport up to 10 medium tanks and 340 troops.
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This is the second Black Sea Fleet ship that kyiv has sunk in the last two weeks after the destruction of the missile corvette “Ivanovets” on February 1 in the saltwater lake Donuzlav, also in Crimea.
Total, kyiv has managed to destroy or damage five landing ships in the last two years, including the 'Saratov' in March 2022 and the 'Novocherkassk' last December.
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In this way, Ukraine has destroyed almost a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet with drones and missiles – including the flagship, the 'Moskvá' – since the start of the war in February 2022, according to kyiv.
According to NATO, kyiv's greatest success in 2023 was precisely to keep the Russian Navy away from its coasts, which was forced to transfer several ships based in Crimean ports to continental territory.
Sirski visits the Eastern Front
Meanwhile, Sirski visited the Kupiansk front (north-eastern region of Kharkiv) and Avdivka (eastern region of Donetsk) for the first time since his appointment, where he assured that the Ukrainian army is doing “everything possible to prevent the enemy from advancing.”
“We have jointly analyzed the available resources and the needs of our troops,” added the general, who announced “a series of important decisions” to “strengthen Ukrainian combat capabilities.”
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We have jointly analyzed the available resources and the needs of our troops.
He recognized that The situation on the front is “extremely complex and tense”, since the Russians do not care about the casualties in their ranks. “The Russian occupiers continue to increase their efforts and have a numerical advantage in personnel,” he commented.
In this regard, Zelensky stressed that his emissaries at the front – the Minister of Defense, Rustem Umerov, also traveled – attend to the needs of the soldiers and will present “a detailed report”, something that the president missed with Zaluzhni.
“There will be reinforcement of drones and radio-electronic means of combat. Command posts will also be reinforced,” he stated.
EFE
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