Russian forces shell liberated Snake Island to demonstrate control over Black Sea – UK intelligence
Фото: Сухопутні війська ЗС України
Russia's high-risk missions against the liberated Snake [Zmiinyi] Island are intended to demonstrate that the aggressor state can project force across the Black Sea, the UK Intelligence report says.
UK analysts have analyzed the recent downing of a Russian Su-24M, which was most likely shot down by a Ukrainian surface-to-air missile from a surface-to-air missile system over the northwestern Black Sea near the island
(1/5) On 5 December 2023, a Russian Naval Aviation Su-24M FENCER D fighter bomber was highly likely shot down by to a Ukrainian surface-to-air Missile (SAM) over the north-western Black Sea in the vicinity of Ukraine's Snake Island.
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 8, 2023
The British defense ministry believes that Russian forces may carry out such missions mainly for information purposes, as the island "has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance."
The British ministry also adds that the Russian crew of two people is likely dead, and it will be extremely difficult for the interventionists to succeed in the search and rescue operation.
"Both sides continue to suffer regular losses of combat aircraft. In general, air defense continues to seriously limit the effectiveness of tactical air operations,"
Ukraine's Security Service successfully used Sea Baby maritime drones to free the Black Sea from Russian ships. These drones were used in the attack on the Crimea Bridge, the Admiral Makarov ship, etc. During the year of its existence, the fleet of marine drones has hit eight Russian vessels.
Russian forces moved some of their ships from the occupied Crimea to Novorossiysk, but this port could not accommodate all Russian ships, so the leadership decided to use the occupied part of Georgia for this purpose.
On June 30, Russian forces fled the island after Ukrainian troops struck it with a series of attacks, including from a Ukrainian-made Bohdana howitzer. Since then, Russian troops have been launching guided bombs to reestablish control of the land.
