Russian forces are trying to quickly replace air defense systems in occupied Crimea that were destroyed by the Defense Forces of Ukraine.
This was stated on television by Ukrainian Navy spokesperson, Captain 3rd Rank Dmytro Pletenchuk.
“Of course, they are trying to do this as quickly as possible, because they clearly understand that the destruction of surveillance systems means the subsequent destruction of the facilities those systems protect. We have already observed this more than once, when after such information there later comes other news — that protected facilities were hit. In any case, we won’t speculate for now. One way or another, reducing the enemy’s capability to detect means of attack from our side is always a plus,” Pletenchuk emphasized.
Commenting on the situation in the waters of the Black and Azov Seas, the spokesperson noted that due to difficult weather conditions, Russian aviation and naval activity there has been significantly reduced.
“The sea is still the sea — this season is unfavorable, and the weather conditions as well. As a result, aviation activity in the airspace over the maritime area is currently minimal, and this situation has persisted for several days. The same applies to ships: there have been no sorties or combat use at sea,” he added.
Responding to a question about whether the delivery of Kalibr missiles to arm Russian ships is being observed, Pletenchuk said:
“We cannot disclose our level of awareness. I can only note that we are always expecting the use of naval platforms against Ukraine, and therefore we always consider this threat to be present.”
At the same time, he added that storms of three to four points prevent the use of sea-based platforms for strikes against Ukraine.
“As a rule, the use of naval launch platforms does not take place — not because ships cannot go to sea, they can, but because in such sea conditions, no one usually risks launching missiles,” the spokesperson explained.
