"Cutting off" Crimea: How and with what the "Phalanx" unit is bleeding the enemy dry
Kyiv • UNN
The Phalanx Center is destroying enemy logistics using cyber intelligence and drones. Commander Dmytro Filatov stated that a complete blockade of the highway to Crimea is a realistic goal.
The recently established "Phalanx" Multi-Domain Operations Center is actively involved in the operation to so-called "cut off" the temporarily occupied Crimea from the land corridor to Russia. Dmytro "Perun" Filatov, commander of the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo, which is part of the "Phalanx" Center, spoke on Radio Liberty about how the unit manages to deliver powerful strikes against the enemy, UNN writes.
A cyber intelligence department has been created within the unit, allowing for more information about the enemy to be gathered. "Phalanx" has the capability to independently purchase strike assets that are optimal for their tasks, such as strike drones from the Ukrainian company Fire Point.
"We focused specifically on the work that will bleed dry the units we are fighting against on the ground. The goal of the multi-domain center is destruction at all levels of the units we are fighting. Specifically, these events with Chongar and Armyansk took place precisely within the scope of influencing those units we are fighting on the ground. These are specifically the 37th Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 64th. We concentrate reconnaissance assets on identifying their targets. Currently, the most informative source of information is cyber breaches. That is, we created a cyber intelligence department that searches for targets in the cyber environment. We possess quite interesting information about the adversary. Therefore, having the assets for which we were allocated funding, we purchased 'Fire Points,' and with these assets, we were able to react to the actions taking place within the enemy's ranks," Dmytro Filatov said.
According to Filatov, the first strike was relatively weak because they acted quickly and were still learning. However, as recent weeks have shown, the Ukrainian military has learned quite rapidly to deliver devastating blows to enemy targets and the infrastructure used by the enemy.
Filatov believes that taking control of the R-280 highway, which runs from the Rostov region through temporarily occupied territories to the peninsula, is entirely realistic.
"I think it is 100% realistic. Robert Brovdi, commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, made a statement about this. And I think they have enough assets and enough capabilities to implement this, since they are making such bold statements. We, certainly within the power of the two assault regiments operating in that sector, directly influence the actions of our unit, we have these assets. I am not sure that with that quantity of assets we could, for example, maintain this blockade for a very long period. We delivered strikes using these assets," Filatov explained.
According to him, the section to Melitopol is quite narrow, and blocking it immediately cuts off the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, as well as Crimea.
"This leads not only to difficult military consequences, it leads to a certain humanitarian catastrophe in this area. Which the enemy will also have to solve. Accordingly, the Russian authorities will need to solve not only military issues but also humanitarian-civilian ones. Funds will have to be spent on this. And by stimulating the blockade, we will be able to move more aggressively and actively on the ground, specifically in the Zaporizhzhia direction. This will lead to the enemy being forced to redeploy reserves and throw them at us," the commander explained, adding that this will also have a positive impact on other sectors of the front to some extent.
Addendum
Using Ukrainian-made middle-strike UAVs, the military has previously struck key Crimean bridges near Chongar and Armyansk. The strikes were carried out using FP-2 and "Behemoth" drones. The bridge connecting the Kherson region with Crimea in Chongar was hit twice – on the night of June 6-7, and also on the night of June 9.
On June 8, the bridge leading from Henichesk to the Arabat Spit came under attack.
Two more bridges across the North Crimean Canal – in the area of the settlements of Preobrazhenka and Myrne near Armyansk – were attacked on June 11.
In addition, on the night of June 13, the "Dzhankoy" checkpoint, a railway bridge, and a pontoon crossing were hit. In the video recordings of the strikes released by the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo, instead of a traditional sight, there is a green heart, which is characteristic of the strike drones produced by the Fire Point company.