Forbes: Russians Are Panicking

• 2.12.2024, 13:14

A powerful and thoughtful attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Crimea could be part of a large-scale plan.

The attack of the Ukrainian military on the temporarily occupied Crimea on November 27 was coordinated, powerful, carefully thought out and probably a diversionary maneuver.

Military columnist David Axe writes about this for Forbes, analyzing the raid on the annexed peninsula, from which the Russians were "in a panic". According to the analyst, at least 40 air targets were used against the enemy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Axe does not exclude that this attack on Crimea, despite its scale, was a diversionary maneuver — thus the Ukrainian forces allegedly want to force the enemy to transfer even more air defence systems from other parts of the front. Thus, this attack on Crimea may be followed by strikes that will no longer be distracting maneuvers. For example, for Russian command posts and supply lines in the Kursk region in the west of Russia or for Russian facilities in the Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian Air Force used a diverse arsenal to strike Crimea on November 27, Axe notes. According to the Institute for the Study of War, it contained Storm Shadow cruise missiles, S-200 anti-aircraft missiles, attack drones, as well as unidentified ballistic missiles.

This diversity has made it more difficult for Russia to repel the attack, the observer notes. In particular, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Belbek airbase and the Nakhimov Naval School. This attack, emphasizes David Axe, is probably part of a larger plan to force the enemy to transfer additional air defence systems to the area.

The resulting gaps in other areas of the front "could be used by Ukrainians as an effective tool" against Russian forces, including in the Kursk region.