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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| What is the main point of Ukraine's missile strike on Sevastopol? |
| 2023-09-23 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov [REGNUM] The Ukrainian armed forces launched a missile strike on the territory of Crimea. According to the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev , the target of the attack was the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy. Immediately before the attack, smoke screens were placed in the bay of Sevastopol to protect warships. The Russian Ministry of Defense, in turn, stated that Crimea was attacked by cruise missiles. As a result of the air defense, five missiles were shot down, but at least one damaged the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet. As a result of the incident, one soldier is listed as missing. Within an hour after the attack, local authorities announced the threat of a second missile launch, but the alarm was subsequently canceled. It is noteworthy that the strike was carried out at noon, whereas previously the Ukrainian Armed Forces chose mainly the dark time of day for attacks on Crimea. Presumably, Ukrainian aviation used Storm Shadow cruise missiles to attack Crimea. In recent weeks, Ukrainian aircraft have increased the intensity of their strikes on Crimea, aiming to hit military installations located on the peninsula. As military expert, author of the telegram channel “Russian Engineer” Alexey Vasiliev noted in a commentary to Regnum news agency, the strikes on Crimea pursue a purely media goal. “The fact is that for them, attacks on the central part of Russia - Bryansk, Belgorod - are not as effective in the media as on Crimea. For the Kyiv regime, media presence comes first. The goal is clear - to force us into some kind of negotiations, to raise public outrage,” the expert said. As an example, the specialist cited the recent attack on the Sevastopol Marine Plant, which resulted in damage to one diesel-electric submarine and a large landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet. “Damage to damage is different. You can strike in two ways: for the future and here and now. These attacks are, rather, for a very distant future, because they will not bring immediate profit. The only thing is that the damaged landing craft complicates the conduct of some kind of landing operation, but since it was not planned, this is a media moment in the first place. A blow to the headquarters in this sense could be even more “effective,” added Alexey Vasiliev. Fleet headquarters was chosen as a target for a number of reasons. In particular, the Ukrainian Armed Forces would like to disrupt the coherence of the Black Sea Fleet and disorganize the actions of warships. Fleet headquarters officers, documentation or technical equipment could also be the target of the strike. “Of course, if employees who are involved in areas related to fleet management systems could die there, this complicates the work of the headquarters. There is no way to summarize, analyze information, consolidate it, or issue orders. This is all a bureaucratic mechanism that is necessary for the existence of any complex system, and its work is disrupted. Well, don’t forget about the technical side. In case of damage, paper storage media, communication systems, some servers suffer - all this then complicates the work, of course ,” the expert added. At the same time, the expert believes, an attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet will not affect its combat effectiveness. All key elements of command and control of the armed forces provide for the creation of reserve control points. This is done so that a blow to any part does not lead to paralysis of the system. To ensure the safety of stationary objects, it is necessary to distribute the functions of control systems between several safe objects protected from possible missile and air strikes. “You can act like in Ukraine. There, in the event of an air raid, employees of key departments and headquarters leave the building. It is also necessary to reserve and distribute services across different premises, including confidential ones. Well, transfer individual controls to protected shelters and objects. These are basements, bunkers, etc. ,” the specialist added. Earlier, new attacks on Crimea were announced by the head of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky. Speaking at a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Zelensky named among the conditions for a possible peace “the withdrawal from Ukrainian territory” of troops, including ships of the Black Sea Fleet or “those leaky troughs that will remain from it during the war.” Zelensky’s pathetic statements, says military expert Alexander Mikhailovsky, are aimed primarily at a Western audience. In a commentary to IA Regnum, the expert pointed out the serious problems faced by the military and political leadership of Ukraine, and explained the increasing frequency of attacks in Crimea by Zelensky’s need to justify the money spent on the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Western allies. “Zelensky’s much-anticipated visit to Washington ended in real failure. Instead of promising $24 billion in military aid, they received $325 million. Plus we quarreled with Poland. The question arises about why Ukraine is sponsored at all if there is no result, and there is no banal gratitude either. What should Zelensky do in such a situation? Show results first. Where did the money previously spent on arming the Armed Forces of Ukraine go, where is your successful offensive? But we hit the headquarters in Sevastopol. And the West has nothing to object to, because it sounds serious and respectable ,” the specialist believes. According to Alexander Mikhailovsky, attacks on Crimea have become regular in recent weeks against the background of the failure of the offensive of Ukrainian troops in Zaporozhye. Having failed to break through to Crimea by land, as previously stated, the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces changes tactics and attacks targets on the territory of the peninsula. “More like some kind of action in the spirit of “don’t get it from anyone.” This is ineffective simply because I highly doubt that in the second year of hostilities, headquarters are operating in buildings that say “Headquarters.” It's simply irrational. This is the Black Sea Fleet, this is Crimea, which back in the Soviet years was called the “unsinkable aircraft carrier.” There are a lot of underground facilities and backup control points. There are even mines where nuclear weapons were previously stored. So there is somewhere to move the control center. But, I repeat, Zelensky is now playing for sponsors: I said that there would be no Black Sea Fleet, and so I attacked it. That the fleet was not damaged is the second question, but now give us new loans, subsidies and subsidies,” summed up Alexander Mikhailovsky. In order to carry out strikes on the territory of Crimea, Ukrainian aviation will use aircraft located at the Starkonstantinov airbase near the city of Khmelnytsky. Su-24 front-line bombers, converted to use Western-made missiles, are based at the airfield. However, the small number of aircraft does not allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to carry out more intense strikes. “Why did their strikes begin to hit individual targets in Crimea? — explains Alexey Vasiliev. — They began to use more ammunition. The first successes were due to the fact that they used the effect of surprise. Then four to six missiles were fired, as a rule, at targets in the Kherson and Zaporozhye directions. Then the blows became massive, due to which success is achieved. They launch several dozen drones, they are shot down by our air defense, and their ammunition is consumed. During reloading, cruise missiles approach. Discharged air defense installations do not have time to shoot down all targets. And it turns out that out of ten missiles, one or two break through. They have only 5-6 combat-ready aircraft, that's 10-12 missiles. That is, now they are operating at the limit of their capabilities,” the expert added. As experts note, the intensity of attacks on Crimea will subside as the Ukrainian Armed Forces exhaust their stocks of Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles transferred from Great Britain and France. Next, the Ukrainian leadership will have to ask for new supplies, in particular, of German Taurus missiles. However, given the gradual cooling of Western interest in the Ukrainian conflict, if new missiles arrive, they will be in quantities that are by no means sufficient for mass use. Therefore, the Ukrainian leadership chooses media-significant targets for strikes, regardless of issues of strategy and military expediency. However, Kyiv's capabilities are not limitless, so the threat of air strikes may soon fade away. More from RIA Novosti British Foreign Office refused to comment on the Storm Shadow strike on Sevastopol British Deputy Foreign Minister Tariq Ahmad did not confirm to RIA Novosti that Kyiv attacked Sevastopol with British Storm Shadow missiles. “Like any sovereign state, Ukraine has the right to self-defense. And Great Britain supports a sovereign Ukraine,” he said after a request to comment on the information that Storm Shadow struck Sevastopol. However, Akhmad did not respond to a request to confirm whether this type of missile was used. The attack on the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet was announced on Friday by the Governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev . As the Ministry of Defense clarified, the historical headquarters building was damaged, and air defense forces shot down five missiles. One soldier is missing. The Sky News television channel, citing a source in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, reported that British Storm Shadow missiles were used for the attack. The commander of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Nikolai Oleshchuk, actually admitted that Ukraine struck Sevastopol. In his Telegram channel, he wrote that he “thanks the pilots.” Britain and France supply Storm Shadow to Kyiv as part of Western military aid. This missile was developed jointly by France and the UK (in France it was called SCALP and is produced by the MBDA concern). London announced the transfer of Storm Shadow cruise missiles (destruction range from 250 to 560 kilometers, depending on modification) to Kiev on May 11 of this year. More from korrespodent.net Strike at fleet headquarters: Budanov announced the results Ukrainian intelligence announced the death of at least nine members of its headquarters, including Russian generals. At least nine people were killed and 16 were injured as a result of a Ukrainian missile attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on Friday, September 22. This was announced by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, in a commentary to the Voice of America . He noted that Russian generals were injured. "Among the wounded is the commander of the group, Colonel General (Alexander) Romanchuk, in very serious condition. The chief of staff, Lieutenant General (Oleg) Tsekov, is unconscious. The number of casualties among ordinary military personnel who are not headquarters employees is still being established. These are the military who are carrying service, security, and so on - they are not included in the list that I voiced to you,” Budanov noted. At the same time, Budanov did not confirm reports about the probable death of the commander of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Viktor Sokolov. There is no information from the GUR about his condition yet. When asked what role the partisans and local residents played in planning the strike, Budanov replied that intelligence collects data from all sources. “It is clear that intelligence sources are one of the main ones,” he added. At the same time, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate did not answer whether Western-made missiles were used to attack the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. “Here I must refrain from answering, I think you should understand me,” he said. Alexander Romanchuk - commander of the group of Russian forces in the Zaporozhye direction, received the rank of colonel general in 2023. Lieutenant General Oleg Tsekov – commander of the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Coastal Forces of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy. Let us remind you that in Sevastopol the headquarters of the Russian Fleet was attacked; in Russia, casualties were reported. Later, the partisan movement announced involvement in the strike. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #7 Maybe they just want to kill some Russians? |
| Posted by: ed in texas 2023-09-23 17:48 |
| #6 So, the attack is primarily for PR reasons Like I said, the lies and propaganda from both sides fly thicker than missiles and drones. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-09-23 16:13 |
| #5 ^(a)About a hit on the building of Staff of Black Sea Fleet. Immediately for people who may have questions: NOBODY IS in this building except for maintenance and guard crew. During war time all C4 departments of the Staff operate out of ZKP (Запасной Командный Пункт--ЗКП)--a Reserve Command Post, which is underground and is very difficult to identify and attack. So, the attack is primarily for PR reasons, militarily it has a very low value, plus disruption of the civilian traffic in the area of Lenin's Street, Nakhimov's Square, Nakhimov's Ave and on the hill where the Staff and Rear Service of the Fleet are located. (b) I've seen that 10 kg warhead of a 155 mm artilery shell can do to a solid stone house. 450 Kg (1000 pounds) of modern explosives inside the building - Storm Shadow penetrates before exploding = all the walls fall outside in pieces. IMO, it was one of these pesky UAVs that got inside and started a fire. |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-09-23 13:52 |
| #4 Dunno what 450 kg of explosives looks like but the pictures I saw of that building looked pretty bad. It had to have been evacuated before it was hit if there were so few casualties. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-09-23 13:41 |
| #3 ^Probably not even one: the Internet is full of pics of the hit building - does it look like 450 kg of explosive? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-09-23 13:01 |
| #2 As a result of the air defense, five missiles were shot down, but at least one damaged the historical headquarters building of the Black Sea Fleet. As a result of the incident, one soldier is listed as missing. So one out of six missiles hit the target and inflicted only one casualty. |
| Posted by: Abu Uluque 2023-09-23 12:43 |
| #1 Doing something to justify the billions spent on them? |
| Posted by: Grom the Reflective 2023-09-23 02:50 |