14 June 2024, Friday, 14:47 1644

Ukrainian strikes on air defense systems can make Crimea unusable for russian army - ISW

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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Further strikes by the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against enemy air defenses in the temporarily occupied Crimea may render the peninsula unsuitable for use by the russian army as a bridgehead.

This was stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

It is noted that the constant strikes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on russian military facilities in Crimea force the russian military to transfer additional air defense equipment to the peninsula to protect existing bases and logistics infrastructure.

The report mentions the words of the head of the Defense Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, who said that as part of efforts to strengthen russian air defense in Crimea, russian troops deployed the S-500 system, which is a modernized version of the S-300 air defense system, on the peninsula. Budanov called this system "experimental" and noted that the russian troops had not previously used it in combat conditions.

According to the June 12 edition of Forbes, after several successful strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on russian installations, the Belbek airfield in Crimea is becoming an "exhaustion trap" for russian air defense. In recent strikes, the Air Force reportedly destroyed elements of four or five S-400 batteries, although russia has more than 50 such batteries.

One of the users of the social network X (formerly Twitter), referring to satellite images, noted that russian forces have placed 17 barges near the bridge across the Kerch Strait, which connects the occupied Crimea with the Krasnodar Krai.

ISW analysts believe that the russians probably intend to use these barges to protect the bridge from strikes by Ukrainian naval drones, having previously installed eight barges on the southern side of the bridge for similar protection.

"Ukraine's current efforts to strengthen the russian air defense umbrella in Crimea could result in more russian air defense assets being deployed to the peninsula, making it vulnerable to further strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the ISW report said.

The Institute assumes that the Defense Forces of Ukraine are conducting an organized effort to degrade russian air defenses, which may allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine to more effectively use manned aircraft (in particular, F-16 fighters) in the long term.

"The West has long supported Ukraine's right to strike russian military facilities in the occupied Crimea. Ukrainian troops, in principle, could repeat their successful strikes on military facilities on the territory of russia, if the West approved such strikes in the rear of the aggressor state," the ISW report says.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Ministry of Defense of the aggressor country of the russian federation stated that on the night of June 14, air defense forces allegedly intercepted and destroyed 87 Ukrainian drones over the territory of russia and the temporarily occupied Crimea.