Ukraine is said to have attacked the Russian Black Sea fleet in Sevastopol on Saturday morning with so-called floating drones. And while there has been no official confirmation that Kyiv was behind the attacks, it is clear to many war observers that the remote-controlled warfare attack was carried out by Ukraine.
Australian military expert and ex-General Mick Ryan also has no doubt that Ukraine was behind the attack. On Twitter he analyzes what the action means.
These seven points are crucial for him:
First, it is clear “that Ukraine’s ability to target Russian forces continues to increase beyond the battlefield. Operational and strategic targets are now in sight, backed by good reconnaissance and long-range strikes,” Ryan said.
Second, Ukraine “continues to focus on military targets in these operational and strategic attacks. With the attacks on Sevastopol, Ukraine is hampering the Russians’ ability to launch sea-launched missiles at Ukraine.”
Third, in a cost-benefit analysis for this attack, Ukraine considered whether Russia would stop exporting grain as a result – which it did. “But again, the strategic message that Russia would do this is just bad for Russia,” Ryan said.
Fourth, this attack again shows “how adaptable the Ukrainians are. They have quickly developed a new naval attack capability to complement their growing arsenal of long-range missiles.” But that’s not all: “Having a new weapon is good; skillfully integrating them into military combat concepts is the pinnacle of military effectiveness.”
Fifth, according to Ryan, the attack makes it clear that Ukraine is serious about “retaking its territory in Crimea. These attacks are slowly depleting Russian military capabilities in Crimea and forcing Russia to reassess its military deployment priorities.”
Sixth, Ryan analyzes that the Russians show again “that they don’t take their opponent seriously. The Russians knew that Ukraine had developed this capability. That was in the press. Where did the Russians think they would use them?”
In fact, as early as the end of September, images of these new combat boats, which had already been discovered in Crimea at that time, began to appear.
Read more here: Discovered in Crimea – drone boats could be Ukraine’s new secret weapon
“The Russians’ inability to quickly adapt to such overt and obvious threats is therefore another indication of their sloppy professionalism,” writes Ryan.
Seventh and last, both sides are “increasingly resorting to remotely controlled or autonomous systems.” But that also means, according to Ryan, that Russia and Ukraine “need to invest even more in anti-drone and autonomous defense systems.”
The aim must be “to reduce the costs and personnel requirements for such systems so that they are cheaper than the drones that destroy them.”
