Ukrainian River Flotilla revives historic tactics to combat Russians

On the islands at the mouth of the Dnieper, battles are raging like those from pirate novels. Islands are being captured, troops are being hidden, and even boarding actions are becoming commonplace. The only things missing are fully-rigged ships and treasure chests. Both sides are trying to harass the enemy with diversionary raids. The Ukrainian River Flotilla, reactivated after a hundred-year hiatus, has become an effective tool of warfare.

The history of using river vessels on the Dnieper is very long, and combat techniques have been perfected over the years. Armed steam paddlewheelers and cutters appeared during World War I and were used by all sides in the Russian Civil War. The Bolsheviks had the Dnieper War Flotilla, the Whites the Central Dnieper War Flotilla, and the Makhnovists (participants in the peasant uprising led by Makhno in 1918-1921 – ed. note) had their own. In 1919, the Polish Pińsk Flotilla also appeared on the Pripyat River, followed a year later by the Kyiv Flotilla on the Dnieper.

Currently, after more than 100 years, the Ukrainians are taking full advantage of these experiences and adapting their units and modern technology accordingly. Unlike the Russians, who have not been able to utilise this type of weaponry, despite having vast experience in inland water operations. To this day, they have river flotillas and a developed doctrine of their use on the mighty rivers of the Asian part of the Russian Federation. However, they are not faring well on the Dnieper.

Fighting in the Dnieper and Pripyat river basins in the early weeks of the war demonstrated the importance of having light units and river vessels. Therefore, before the war, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had two jaeger brigades - light infantry suited for fighting in the marshy areas of Polesia and the Dnieper estuary - and river units.

Today, there are already three jaeger brigades and a fully-fledged river flotilla, equipped with both dedicated warships and civilian vessels hastily adapted for wartime use. After deliveries from allies, the Ukrainians now possess, in addition to their own Giurza class project 58155 gunboats, over 20 Mk. VI patrol boats and about 24 Defiant 40 boats.

The American Mk. VI boats were specially designed to service rivers and coastal waters. They are 26 metres long, 6 metres wide, and have a draft of 1 metre. They are powered by two MTU 16V2000 M94 diesel engines with a total power of 7,000 HP and two Hamilton HM651 waterjets, accelerating them to 83 km/h.

Along with the boats, the Ukrainians also ordered, among other things, 32 unmanned gun stations with 30mm Mk. 44 Bushmaster II automatic cannons and 20 electro-optical heads with surface radars. These are very modern units, primarily intended to support special forces, and they currently bear the main burden of fighting on the Dnieper.

On the other hand, the Defiant 40 boats are armed with a heavy 12.7mm machine gun and an M134 Minigun. They are tasked with patrolling and deploying small diversionary units behind enemy lines. They also support rigid-hulled inflatable boats that ferry small units between the islands.

Surface units are supported by unmanned groups and at least two Mi-8 helicopters equipped with unguided rocket launchers and Miniguns mounted on the rear ramp and the sides of the fuselage.

The tactics of using fast boats on rivers haven't changed since the Great War. Their mission is to deliver a small unit tasked with capturing a strategic object on or near the river and providing fire support for the landing. They also aim to destroy enemy diversionary groups and, with the advancement of technology, to conduct anti-aircraft combat against unmanned systems and cruise missiles.

When attacking from the Black Sea, Russians often route the flight path of Shahed 136/Geran 2 and Kh-101 drones over the waters of the Dnieper, with fewer anti-aircraft systems. Hence, Ukrainians decided to form combat groups assigned to specific river sections, primarily shooting down any Russian missile appearing over the river.

The flotilla's combat units, on the other hand, focus on capturing islands where drone operators or forward bases are stationed to support special forces, jaeger units, or the Marine Corps. These small units force the Russians in Zaporizhia to maintain considerable force.

- Information has emerged that the Russians are waiting there for our offensive. The special forces of the Main Intelligence Directorate particularly conducted active operations. They conducted landing operations on the Kinburn Spit and the Tendrovskaya Spit. Therefore, the Russians maintain their contingent there also for defensive reasons. But now we are dealing with increased attacks from their side – said Dmytro Lykhova, spokesman for the Operational Group "Tavria," responsible for the southern and southeastern front sections.

In both raids, special forces destroyed reconnaissance and surveillance systems, which enabled the Russians to control traffic in the Dnieper Bay, through which shipping routes from Mykolaiv and Kherson pass. The Russians also controlled smaller ports—Halytsynove, where Ukrkharchozbut terminals are located, handling vegetable oil transshipment, or Ochakiv, from which Ukrainian grain is shipped. Therefore, the actions of the river flotilla are significant for the Ukrainian war effort.