During Wednesday, the command center at Belbek military airport was attacked. On Thursday the air base Sakii and on Friday the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
Rob Thornton has for many years specialized in the Russian military, has worked in Moscow and in Kiev and has long service behind him in the British army. He says that Russian bases in Crimea were already attacked last year – what is different this time is that the Ukrainians now have more sophisticated weapon systems such as Neptune and Storm Shadow robots.
– By striking the air bases and air defense systems, the Ukrainians want to deny the Russians air supremacy over the Black Sea, Thornton explains.
Unusually intense Ukrainian attacks
The Rybar Telegram channel, which is close to the Russian defense, writes that Ukraine deployed around 80 drones, 13 Storm Shadows and at least one Neptune missile.
– The large number of drones, some equipped with electronic countermeasures, is becoming too extensive for the air defense to handle. When the air defense is busy with the drones, Ukraine sends the robots that have more explosive power, says Rob Thornton.
He expects that there will be more attacks against the air bases, the air defense and not least military command centers. The fact that headquarters are attacked in broad daylight has its logical explanation, Thornton says – then it’s full staffing.
– They call it beheading operations when senior officers are killed or injured. When the military leadership is gone after an operation like this, one can ask how well the rest of the military system works.