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The Air Force Command published a photo of the latest
80K6KC1 Fenix-1 radar, which was developed in Ukraine
and entered service in 2021.
Tail of the Russian Su-24M with the designation
RF-92025 and fuselage number "blue 48" in Soledar.
Wrecks of two Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters.
Wreckage of Su-24M "blue 48" at the original location.
A shot from a Russian video captures the attack
of the Lancet drone on a dummy Su-25.
Colonel Alexander Gal died in the Ukrainian drone
attack on Kursk airport.
When Russians are under Ukrainian attacks, they
tend to claim that their anti-aircraft defense
worked flawlessly, and all attacking drones
(or missiles or projectiles with a flat trajectory)
were destroyed. They often forget to mention how
many were destroyed upon hitting the target...
A rare confirmation that some losses occurred
is the information about the death of Colonel
Alexander Gala. He was a Su-30SM fighter pilot
and the deputy commander for political affairs
in the 14th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment.
He died on the ground on September 24, 2023,
during a Ukrainian drone attack on the Kursk
airport.
Footage also emerged of a heavily damaged
Kamov Ka-52 helicopter, claiming it was a victim
of ATACMS missile attack on the Berdyansk
airport. With over 50 shrapnel holes in the
fuselage and canopy, The Military Watch clarified
the situation. The attack on Berdyansk occurred
in mid-October, and the first photos of this
helicopter appeared in September. It's a Ka-52
with the designation RF-13442 and fuselage
number "blue 50," which was irreparably
damaged earlier and, after cannibalization of
usable equipment, was sold to a private aviation
museum at the Oreshkovo airport in the Russian
Kaluga region. Thus, it ended up in the museum
before the attack on Berdyansk.
Destroyed Corvette
This does not in any way diminish the
effectiveness of Ukrainian attacks on distant
targets, which occur on the regular basis. Let's
mention one in particular, which took place on
Saturday, November 4, in the city of Kerch on the
eastern part of the occupied Crimea peninsula.
In the Zaliv shipyards, the Russian corvette Askold
was anchored, which had not yet been officially
completed and commissioned. According to
footage from the video, it was hit at least twice
by Storm Shadow cruise missiles. The third
explosion could have been either a third hit or an
explosion of ammunition on board. Subsequently,
a photograph emerged confirming that the ship
was seriously, possibly irreparably damaged.
The entire port side, roughly from a third of the
vessel backward, is torn and scorched.
The Askold corvette belongs to the Project
22800 Karakurt class, representing modern
ships and an example of how sanctions against
Russia work. In this case, sanctions imposed
after the illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014
have had an impact. Originally, Russia planned
to build 18 of these corvettes and began building
the first one in 2015. However, two corvettes
were entirely canceled, and the completion of the
remaining ones has been significantly delayed.
So far, only four have been commissioned, and
the fifth is undergoing trials. Another eight were
launched several years ago, but they still lack all
the necessary equipment. This also applied to
the Askold corvette, whose commissioning was
indefinitely postponed after the attack. Ships
of this class have a length of 67 meters and
a displacement of 820 tons. They carry a 100mm
caliber gun and eight launchers for Kalibr cruise
missiles.
After all the previous Ukrainian attacks, the
Russian Black Sea Fleet is left with seven
surface ships and three submarines capable
of launching Kalibr missiles. In the past, they
routinely used them to shell Ukrainian cities.
However, since September, they haven't done
so. According to Ukrainian Navy representative
Dmytro Pletenchuk, logistics issues are to blame.
All infrastructure for storing Kalibr missiles and
handling them was concentrated in the port of
Sevastopol. However, after the Ukrainian attacks,
the ships withdrew to Novorossiysk or smaller
ports. These ports are not equipped to load Kalibr
missiles into the warships' launchers. "Until they
solve this problem, they can't attack from the
sea. Or move to Sevastopol to load missiles. And
that's dangerous for them," Pletenchuk told the
Nexta channel.
Shahid Drone Offensive
Of course, the Russian side does not confirm
this claim by the Ukrainian representative.
In the case of other types of missiles, however,
it was clear that the Russians were saving
them for mass attacks on Ukrainian energy
infrastructure. They did the same last winter.
November brought increased intensity of
Iranian Shahid 131 and 136 drone attacks. Russia
launched a total of 374 of them onto Ukraine, the
third-highest number for a single month so far.
They even set a record – on the night of November
25, they launched 75, the highest number in
a single attack. However, it didn't help them much
because Ukrainian air defense destroyed 74.
Russians are not very satisfied with the Shahid
drones. They had high expectations, but the
success of Iranian kamikaze drones significantly
HISTORY
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January 2024