In what manner might a beleaguered nation tip the power balance in a superior aggressor’s favor? In response, of course, comes Ukraine, now in its fourth year of war with Russian conquests that extend into Crimea as well, with deep strike power, precision sabotage, as well as effective use of guided drone missiles. In just a short span of weeks, the Ukrainians have accomplished various significant missions targeting Russian military assets and infrastructure far removed from the conflict.
Beginning right from the oil terminals and pipeline networks to the jets and the naval forces, the operations carried out by the forces of Ukraine have demonstrated a measure of symmetry between the need to fight off the enemy by symmetrical warfare and the need to achieve the same by asymmetrical warfare. This variance has demonstrated the dynamic nature of the whole strategy, which appears to be solely dependent on innovation and intelligence as embraced by the state of Kyiv. Below are the nine events that are presently characterizing the nature of the conflict.
1. Tamanneftegaz Oil Terminal Hit
The General Staff of Ukraine has now confirmed that “there has been a precision strike on the Tamanneftegaz marine oil terminal in Taman Bay in the Russian Krasnodar region. In this case, there has been damage to an oil pipeline, two piers, and two seagoing vessels.” More than 1,000 square meters of infrastructure “has caught on fire” within this particular port installation, according to Leonix Frexler, speaking for the General Staff of the nation of Ukraine. “This maritime oil terminal is of great importance in the funding of the occupation and military activities of the invaders,” he further stated. Reports from the Krasnodar region relayed that “damages to ships and piers have been attained. There are also evacuees.”
2. Crimean River Boat Brigade Base Destroyed
The impact of the strike, in terms of a huge fire and damages to the ships, became a result of an indigenous missile strike on the temporary base location of the 92nd River Boat Brigade of the Russian Federation, located in the occupied Crimean region. In this regard, the significance of targeting this structure came to influence their operations in the aspect of carrying out amphibious operations in contested waters following other missile attacks by Ukraine.
3. Ammunition Depot, Donetsk Oblast
In Ukrainsk, in the Donetsk Oblast, the Ukrainians struck the ammunition depot belonging to a Russian Motorized Rifle Regiment. The objective of this attack is to impede the Russian logistic movements on the Pokrovsk axis so as to weaken their push in the Donbas region. The destruction of the storage of the ammunitions in the occupied regions impacts the capability of conducting offensive engagements depending on the longer logistic lines.
4. Fighter Jet Sabotage at the Lipetsk Airbase
According to reports from the military intelligence of Ukraine, the partisans managed to destroy by fire two Su-30 Russian fighter jets based at the Lipetsk airfield, western part of the Russian Federation. The sabotage was carefully organized by the partisans to take place when these mobile patrols had observed their routine and left to escape undetected. The sabotage also avoids the air defense systems and the valuable assets, which will further degrade the ability of the Russian Federation to engage in air operations.
5. Belbek Airbase Under Constant Attack
Long-range UAVs targeted the Su-27 aircraft at the Belbek Base in Crimea, one of which is equipped with the entire set of attack munition options. The Security Service of Ukraine has also destroyed the radar equipment and an air defense system at the said location, which makes the stationundefendable in the event of future bombing. All these strikes prove the ability of the Ukraine to weaken the defense structure in addition to the bombers they can use in guided bombing.
6. Attack on Russian Submarine in Novorossiysk
During an attack, the Ukrainian sea drone inflicted significant damage to the Kilo-class submarine stationed at Novorossiysk, as it was used to launch Kalibr missiles at Ukrainian cities. Satellite images indicated that this submarine was stationary, which created many doubts about its functional presence in the conflict. The loss of such significant weapons of war will diminish the capability to attack through the conflict.
7. Coordinated Strikes on Oil Refineries
The Ukraine also confirmed that they had attacked 28 refining and storage sites at the end of November in the regions of Afipsky, Tambov, and Oryol, and also in the region of Saratov. The effect of these attacks made the Ukraine run low on gas. However, it also affected the export capabilities of the Russian economy. The aim, with the sole purpose of attacking the strength of the Russian economy, is for the Ukraine to apply economic power against the war of attrition.
8. Deployment of AN-196 Liutyi and FP-1 Drones
Although the improved strike power of the Ukrainians also depends upon other variants like the AN-196 Liutyi-anew, which boasts an expected striking power of 1,000-2,000 km with accurate guidance, and FP-1, which seems more like an engineering cost-efficient offering with mass production taking place, German investment has led to the creation of the Liutyi. The production level of FP-1 has been measured at an average of up to 100 units per day. These UAVs allow an assault upon targets involving oil plants as well as command centers with strike power complementing rather than duplicating the shorter yet highly capable cruise missile power.
9. Flamingo Cruise Missile
Fire Point’s FP-5 Flamingo Cruise Missile With an insurgency range of 3,000 km, Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile, which has been conceptualized and designed by the FP-5 Flamingo Cruise Missile Fire Point of the Flamingo Cruise Missile Fire Point itself, has certainly taken Ukraine’s long-range weaponry to new heights in an entirely different manner altogether. Though CTO or Chief Technical Officer, Irina Terekh, has argued in favor of indigenization in order to avoid being reliant upon imported components from various nations including but not limited to China and the US in general, Ukraine’s Flamingo cruise missile has already targeted various targets related to Russia’s war economy status and has successfully bombed them in due course.
A recently projected estimate by Ukraine’s own military leader, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, has already suggested that “Ukraine’s long-range strikes against Russia have already cost them more than $21.5 billion in losses alone this year alone,” further vindicating the relevance and utility of such long-range military weaponry to Ukraine itself in realizing its very war objectives in due course.
