HISTORY
rather far distance so the aircraft shapes
cannot be precisely recognized. According
to some sources there where Su-27 fighters attacking with bombs but the attack by
fighter-bomber Su-25 is more probable. The
pair arrived at high speed and very low altitude and each of them dropped two bombs.
According to some observers they did not act
prudently, and the second pilot almost flew
into the blast of the bombs dropped by his
leader. He supposedly lost focus due to this
and missed the target. In reality both attacking pilots hit their targets. There are two
groups of buildings on Snake Island - or better said there were. One was in the center of
the island and the second one on the shore
at a pier. Each of the attacking pilots aimed
at a different building therefore they did not
fly in a line but at a side distance. After the
raid the massive secondary explosions of the
stored ammunition took place in both groups
of the buildings. On the next day the satellite
images showed a large devastation of these
sites.
Bayraktar TB2 shot down in the Kursk area on April 27.
Battle for the strategic island
Snake Island is located approximately 145
km south of Odessa and only 40 km east
of Danube delta which separates Romania
and Ukraine. Its location has a strategic value because the radars positioned there can
monitor the whole southern coast of Ukraine
but also part of Romania, a NATO member.
Had they installed the AA missiles there
they would have controlled the whole area.
The Russians captured it on the first day of
war on February 24. The Ukrainian defenders
became famous when they sent “the Russian military ship to hell”. It was the cruiser
Moskva which ultimately ended up where it
had been sent. She was hit by the Ukrainian
rockets on April 13 and sank on the next day.
On Saturday April 30 Snake Island became
a target of Ukrainian payback. The rocket salvos destroyed the electronic reconnaissance
station and AA defense positions.
Of course, the Russians did not give up and
tried to get the reinforcements to the island.
In the process, on May 2 two Raptor class
patrol boats were destroyed by Bayraktars.
Raptors are 17 meters long with three crew
members, armored cabin and can transport 20 marines. The armament consists of
three machine guns. In the following days
more Raptor class boats were destroyed.
The Ukrainian attacks on Snake Island culminated on Saturday, May 7 when Bayraktars eliminated two attempts for getting the
reinforcements both by sea and the air. The
Serna class landing craft carrying the Tor
AA system on board was hit and sunk at the
pier. The fire from Bayraktar also destroyed
a Russian Mi-8 shortly after it landed on the
island.
And then the attack of a pair of Ukrainian
aircraft came - from that air force which
according to the official Russian statements
was completely destroyed a long time ago.
The raid was recorded by a Bayraktar drone. The images however were taken from
June 2022
A pair of Su-25 during the attack on Snake Island.
A Russian Mi-8 on Snake Island shortly before its destruction.
INFO Eduard
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