The Kremlin has poured billions of dollars into militarizing Crimea, expanding bases, and building warehouses and other infrastructure. Now Ukraine has got it ATACMSand so Vladimir Putin’s stronghold is under threat.
As stated in the European Bureau material “Freedom radio“The US gave these long-range missiles to Ukraine after two years of hesitation. They are capable of hitting almost any of the more than 100 military targets on the peninsula.
“The delivery of ATACMS is a major step forward. It could effectively render Crimea militarily irrelevant,” said Philip Karber, a Washington-based defense analyst who specializes in Ukraine.
In Crimea there is the Russian Black Sea Fleet, six air bases, command and control centers, military bases, docks, barracks and the like. It is also equipped with air defense radars and anti-missile systems to protect installations. Russia is using Crimea to attack Ukraine.
“The Unsinkable Aircraft Carrier”
Crimea is also a key logistics hub for Putin’s military efforts. Both manpower and equipment, humanitarian aid, and fuel enter the front through the island.
“Right now, for the Russians, Crimea is like an unsinkable aircraft carrier. forces in Europe.
Ukraine hit several key military targets on the peninsula, notably attacking the Crimean Bridge twice, even before receiving ATACMS. However, military goods are still being delivered to Crimea by rail, road and sea.
Last fall, the United States provided Ukraine with a shorter range ATACMS with a range of 165 kilometers. Ukraine used them successfully in October against targets in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine used long-range ATACMS to hit the Dzhankoy airbase in northeastern Crimea, damaging Russian helicopters and S-400s.
Play numbers
The US has not announced how many longer-range ATACMS it has already sent to Ukraine or how many more Ukraine will receive in the coming months. The New York Times, citing unidentified US officials, reports that we are talking about more than 100 ATACMS. According to Karber and Hodges, multiple ATACMS may be required to destroy or significantly damage a single target.
Colby Badhwar, an independent defense analyst, said the United States may be likely to transfer 200 long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine, and possibly more if the roughly 1,140 missiles “have expired” in the stockpile of SA still usable.
Proof of concept
Over 10 days in September 2023, Ukraine used its stockpile of Storm Shadows to strike two targets in Crimea: a shipyard and the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol. Ukraine has destroyed or damaged about 24 Russian vessels in the Black Sea, including the flagship Moskva, using a combination of domestic and Western weapons.
Less than two weeks after the strike on the headquarters, Russia withdrew most of its Black Sea Fleet from the peninsula to Novorossiysk.
“The Ukrainians have already proven the concept of what a bunch of precision weapons can do against the Russians in Crimea,” Hodges said.
Last month, in an interview with the Washington Post, Zelensky said that ATACMS would allow Ukraine to expel the Russian air force from the peninsula.
“When Russia finds out we can destroy these planes, they won’t attack from Crimea. It’s like the navy.
Badhwar said fast ATACMS can reach their targets in minutes and are best suited for use against time-sensitive targets such as mobile air and missile defense systems, ground-based aircraft, logistics, supply and loading assets, and artillery of missile launchers.
However, he said that the German Taurus cruise missile is more suitable for targeting the Crimean Bridge than ATACMS. The US decision to provide ATACMS will prompt German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to accelerate the decision to provide Kyiv with these missiles. Hodges said that now that Ukraine is armed with ATACMS, Russian troops in Crimea have nowhere to hide.
During his visit to the Munich security conference in February, Zelensky said he showed US officials which targets he wanted to hit with ATACMS.
“The first big step to the liberation of Crimea is to make it unnecessary. And long-range, high-frequency strike power will enable Ukraine to do just that. You don’t have to kill all the Russians. You just have to do that. make sure they don’t have fuel, ammunition and food,” – said Hodges.
Karber noted that Ukraine is likely to launch ATACMS against Russian military bases in the eastern parts of the country, where Moscow is making progress and preparing for an offensive. Hodges said Crimea was the key to victory.
“Whoever controls Crimea wins,” Hodges said.
At the same time, isolating Crimea by destroying supply lines will reduce the pressure on Ukrainian forces, he said. Russian missile and drone attacks from the peninsula will decrease, and Russian troops will have supply problems in the south. Then Ukraine could free up troops in the south for a tougher conflict in the east.
“It’s clear that this will have a wider impact than just removing the Russians from there. It will affect the entire theater, both psychologically and materially and physically,” he said.
The US gave Ukraine ATACMS missiles
According to the New York Times, last week The US secretly sent a batch of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine with a number of more than 100 units.
US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink confirmed that the US provided ATACMS missiles to Ukraine in April, but did not specify the number of such missiles Ukraine received.
You may also be interested in news:
2024-04-30 11:08:00
#delivery #ATACMS #breakthrough #Putins #Crimean #stronghold #threat #media
