SBU confirms strike on Russian air defense systems and airfields in Crimea
Kyiv • UNN
SBU confirms strike on air defense systems near the Kerch Strait and the "Saki" and "Gvardiyske" airfields. Four hangars, two S-400 systems, and two Pantsir-S1 systems were hit.
The Security Service of Ukraine confirmed the targeting of enemy air defense systems and military airfields in temporarily occupied Crimea, reports UNN.
Details
"Carrying out the tasks set by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the fighters of the SBU's 'Alpha' Special Operations Center successfully struck the air defense assets of Russian troops in the area of the Kerch Strait, as well as the infrastructure of the 'Saky' and 'Gvardiyske' military airfields on the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the SBU reported.
As stated by the SBU, "according to preliminary data, as a result of the special operation at the 'Saky' military airfield, four hangars for storing aviation equipment were hit."
"In addition, near Kerch, two units of weapons from the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system were struck, as well as two 'Pantsir-S1' anti-aircraft missile and gun systems," the SBU noted.
This, as reported, is already the fourth 'Pantsir-S1' struck by the SBU's 'Alpha' in this area.
"The Russian occupiers are losing control over the skies of Crimea. Every destroyed air defense system and every struck military airfield opens up new opportunities for further Ukrainian strikes on the enemy's military infrastructure. The SBU will continue to methodically turn Crimea into a territory of permanent losses for the Russian army until it leaves the Ukrainian peninsula," the SBU emphasized.
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The military, using Ukrainian-made middle-strike UAVs, have already struck key Crimean bridges near Chongar and Armyansk. The strikes were carried out using FP-2 and 'Begemot' drones. The bridge connecting Kherson region with Crimea in Chongar was hit twice – on the night of June 6-7, and also on the night of June 9.
In addition, on June 8, a bridge leading from Henichesk to the Arabat Spit was targeted. Two more bridges across the North Crimean Canal – near the settlements of Preobrazhenka and Myrne near Armyansk – were attacked on June 11.
Furthermore, on the night of June 13, the 'Dzhankoi' checkpoint, a railway bridge, and a pontoon crossing were struck. In the video recordings of the strikes shown by the 1st Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo, instead of a traditional sight, there is a green heart, characteristic of attack drones produced by Fire Point.
On the night of June 22, a railway bridge across the North Crimean Canal was destroyed.
The series of strikes on bridges and logistics routes connecting temporarily occupied Crimea with mainland Ukraine has become another stage of the Ukrainian strategy to isolate the Russian group in the south.
Military expert Oleh Zhdanov believes that the peninsula remains the most vulnerable link in the Russian occupation system.
"We have always said from the very beginning that it would be easiest to liberate Crimea, rather than the territory of mainland Ukraine. Why? Because the mainland part adjoins the Russian Federation, and logistics there are very powerful. But Crimea is a territory that can be captured, but it is extremely difficult to hold," noted Oleh Zhdanov in a comment to UNN.
According to the expert, the current strikes have not only a military effect of cutting off the logistics of Russian troops, but also a political one.
"Creating conditions for the liberation of Crimea nullifies all the goals that Putin set for this war. I mean back in 2014, when he talked about 'returning to a native harbor' and promised to turn Crimea into an 'unsinkable aircraft carrier.' And now this aircraft carrier is sinking. The main political goal of seizing foreign territories and destroying Ukraine as a state is being broken," Zhdanov explained.
The strikes on Crimean logistics put Russia before a choice: either to transfer more and more resources to protect the occupied peninsula, or to risk gradually losing control over Crimea.