Ukraine strikes deep: Attacking Russian strongholds in Crimea
On the night of 29 to 30 May 2024, Ukrainians launched two significant attacks on Crimea, inflicting substantial losses on the Russians. The assault involved maritime drones and ballistic missiles. Here, we provide the background of this attack and the equipment used by the Ukrainians.
The Ukrainians targeted two locations: the area around the famous Crimean Bridge and a port in the northwest of Crimea that serves as a base for Russian coast guard units.
Ballistic missile attack in the Crimean Bridge region
Reports from Ukrainian and Russian sources indicate an attack on the Russian ferry crossing. Although the ballistic missiles were reportedly shot down by Russian solid air defence in the bridge region, debris still managed to damage two tugboats, sinking one of them. This represents a significant degradation of Russia's capability to supply Crimea via the Kerch Strait.
Even when a missile is intercepted successfully, its debris, which can weigh up to several hundred kilograms, falls to the ground. For example, the launch mass of the MGM-140 ATACMS is about 1,680 kilograms, with over 500 kilograms attributed to the warhead.
In previous months, Ukrainians also used S-200 Vega anti-aircraft missiles as makeshift ballistic missiles. These are massive constructions with a launch mass of 7,000 kilograms, including a 217-kilogram warhead. Modified examples for ground target attacks might have had more significant destructive potential.
If debris masses of several hundred kilograms combine with a velocity of Mach 5 (1,170 meters per second), their high kinetic energy can cause significant damage.
Maritime drones hunt for Russian patrol boats
The second attack utilised Magura V5 maritime drones to sink two KS-701 class Tunets patrol boats. In the following footage, one of the marine drones can be seen heading towards its target while avoiding fire from a Mi-24/35 Hind helicopter's cannon.
This demonstrates that Ukrainian efforts to arm "wolf packs" of maritime drones in a pair of anti-aircraft versions are highly strategic. This ensures protection from helicopters for other drones equipped with a warhead weighing about 300 or 600 kilograms.
Russian KS-701 boats are designed with a displacement of 23,000 kilograms, and feature light armour meant only to stop light small arms fire. Their armament includes a Kord 12.7x108 mm heavy machine gun and a mix of 9M133 Kornet anti-tank guided missile launchers and PKP Pecheneg machine guns, which are modernizations of the old PKM. This constitutes a significant loss for the Russians, particularly in the context of operations in the Dnieper Delta.
