Air defense and radar systems destroyed: The Ukraine offensive is increasingly relying on drone attacks on Crimea. That could soon change the course of the front.
Kiev – Drilling rigs are occupied by special forces, warships and air defense systems are paralyzed: In the past few days, Ukraine Russia inflicted serious defeats in the struggle for Crimea. And it shouldn’t just be a matter of individual actions. “The Russians expect new surprises in Crimea,” reads the Ukrainian government’s announcement in the Kyiv Post. It was said that the offensive in the war against Russia would be expanded.
In fact, they seem Attacks on the occupied Black Sea peninsula not to be random hits, but a targeted strategy. Many military observers actually see a sophisticated plan for the Ukraine offensive behind the individual actions that have now become known. “In the medium and long term, the goal is to make Crimea untenable for the Russians,” András Rácz, Russia expert at the German Council on Foreign Relations, told the Editorial network Germany (RND).
Ukraine’s counteroffensive: Drone attacks on Crimea are intended to change the course of the front
By deliberately disabling anti-aircraft defenses, Ukrainian troops would force Russia to shift its defense capabilities from the front to Crimea. The hope is that the course of the front could be decisively influenced by the counteroffensive.
Losses in the Ukraine War: Russia’s army almost “blind” after radar systems were destroyed
But will the plan work? In any case, Ukraine has inflicted significant losses on Russia in recent days. First, a special unit recaptured the famous Boiko drilling rigs in the Black Sea, which Russia had occupied Ukraine war most recently used as a rocket launch pad and radar facility. As a result of the recapture, the Russian Navy is now largely “blind,” said Rácz.
The effects became apparent just a few hours and days later: First, several rockets exploded at the shipyard in Sevastopol. Videos show a destroyed landing ship and two damaged submarines. Shortly afterwards, the Ukrainian army also switched off a Russian Triumf S-400 air defense system – apparently because a vacationer had revealed the location in a photo.
According to military analysts, this puts Ukraine in an advantageous position for the offensive. “Ukraine is currently opening Russian airspace over Crimea for further attacks with Storm Shadow cruise missiles,” Rácz is convinced. So far, Russia has been able to repel these attacks almost exclusively with the S-400 anti-aircraft system. However, Vladimir Putin’s army only has 25 such systems, and some have already been hit.
Ukraine offensive: USA will soon deliver ATACMS missiles for the liberation of Crimea
Due to the destruction of the S-400 Triumf in Crimea, the Navy stationed there is now under pressure. Until now, Russia had launched its missile attacks on Ukraine from ships and boats. But now they are increasingly exposed to attacks from the Ukraine offensive. The USA has already announced that it will provide Ukraine with effective long-range ATACMS missiles. With these, Zelensky’s troops could reach any target in Crimea.
The Kremlin will therefore likely have to withdraw part of its forward navy and position it beyond the reach of the new silver bullet. But even if the ships could be protected in a Crimean offensive, there would be a disadvantage for Putin: missile attacks from the Black Sea region on Ukraine would then no longer be possible. (jkf)
Machine assistance was used for this article written by the editorial team. The article was carefully checked by editor Jens Kiffmeier before publication.
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