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The Armed Forces of Ukraine have effectively created an operational zone in the Russians’ rear. Russian air defense is powerless against Ukrainian drones. Ukrainian forces are present in the Black Sea, while Russian aircraft remain airborne around the clock; in the Sea of Azov, the situation is reversed — the Defense Forces have no physical presence in the waters, but they are present in the airspace. This was stated by Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, speaking on UATV English about Ukrainian strikes on Russian vessels in the Black and Azov Seas.
“And essentially, the Russians have now found themselves in the very situation they kept us in for four years. So you could say there’s been a shift. And it’s a shift at the strategic level,” he noted.
Pletenchuk said that due to strikes on Russian logistics, it’s not the Russian troop grouping in Crimea that’s facing more problems, but Russian army units on the left bank in Kherson region.
“That [the Russian troop grouping in Kherson region — ed.] is probably more relevant for us right now. It’s still a zone of active combat operations. And they also have to supply it. Supplying that particular point is the hardest, because both routes are equally distant from Kherson region, and at the same time both are under attack,” the spokesperson explained.
As for Crimea, he recalled that the Defense Forces’ main task regarding it is to turn the peninsula into a suitcase without a handle for Russia and “fill it with bricks.”
“That is, it wasn’t very convenient to carry in the first place, and when it becomes very heavy, at some point the hands simply stop being able to hold it. For the Russians, Crimea is, first of all, their main naval base, whatever the current situation there. Sevastopol is Russia’s main strategic naval base in the Black Sea. On top of that, for the Russians it’s also a way to torment us at sea through aviation basing there, and a way to keep up the rhetoric that Crimea is a point from which they can, in principle, project their power beyond the Black Sea region,” Pletenchuk said.
According to him, when talking about Crimea, this concerns not only Ukraine but also the Mediterranean and other countries. That’s why the peninsula holds strategic importance. But it also has its own weakness.
“It’s surrounded by water on essentially three sides, which significantly complicates being stationed there. And in principle, if you open a history textbook, you’ll find this has always been the main problem. And the outcome of defending Crimea has always been roughly the same. So there’s a real possibility that history will simply repeat itself this time,” the guest concluded.
Read also: Zelenskyy Says Ukrainian Long-Range Strikes Hit Russian Fuel Facilities and Shadow Fleet Tankers
