Lesya Leshchenko11:57, 06/19/24

According to a military expert, the Crimean Bridge is still a strategically important facility for Ukraine.

Speaker of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Dmitry Pletenchuk said that the destruction of the Crimean Bridge now will not have the same effect as it could have done before, since its tactical and strategic importance in the war is decreasing. How important this bridge is now for the Defense Forces, what role it plays in the destruction of Russian air defense on the peninsula, and where the first F-16 fighters will be sent, ex-company commander of the Aidar battalion, military expert Evgeniy Dikiy told UNIAN.

Is the Russian leader’s favorite bridge really no longer of interest to the Armed Forces of Ukraine?

No, this bridge is of great interest to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Its strategic importance may have diminished, but it has not completely disappeared. The Crimean Bridge is still a strategically important object for connecting the peninsula with the mainland and, accordingly, supporting the Russian group. Also, do not forget about its sacred and political significance for Russians. In addition to the purely military aspect, there is a political one, which we then convert into a military one. Let me remind you that in total, over the past month, we destroyed 15 Russian anti-aircraft missile systems on the Crimean Peninsula. Moreover, these are not some “Shells”, but we are talking about the S-300 and S-400 air defense systems. Just last week, two S-300 air defense systems and one S-400 were destroyed in Crimea. This is not at all accidental, this is an absolutely thoughtful strategy that is very effective and produces results.

So we are actually using the Crimean Bridge as bait?

Yes. We are not hitting the bridge itself, but we are scaring the Russians that we will destroy it. They made some kind of existential problem out of this; for them this is a very sacred issue. Therefore, we destroy another Russian air defense system at the bridge and know that they will soon bring a new one. Moreover, in order to bring new air defense there, they take them anywhere. We have already seen how the last S-300s were taken from the Kuril Islands. This is something that in Soviet times was even impossible to imagine – that the Far East would not be left “covered”. We have already seen how complexes were taken from the Arctic. In fact, the Russians do not have enough air defense. They generally have enough air defense – on the front line, Crimea and the city of Moscow. We recently destroyed two Su-57s, of which 10 were produced in total. This is the newest Russian aircraft that even exists. The farther away the Russians go, the greater the air defense deficit. Meanwhile, we turned the Crimean peninsula into such a big Chernobaevka for Russian air defense. And we use the bridge as bait. And this “grinding” of S-300 and S-400 in Crimea continues.

By the way, the Russians have already reported that in response to the fact that we destroyed the last three of these complexes, they are transferring the S-500 there. This is the last thing they managed to release before the war. We have every reason to believe that the S-500 will face the same fate as the S-300 and S-400. And we are doing this not only to destroy the Russian air defense, and not only because we thereby make it easier for ourselves to carry out long-range strikes on their defense factories, refineries, and airfields.

This is still systematic preparation for the appearance of the F-16. The goal is that when we receive F-16s in a couple of months, the Russians will not have anything to shoot them down with. And the key role in this well-thought-out systemic operation to open the Russian sky is played by Crimea and, in particular, the Crimean Bridge.

President Zelensky said that soon we will have the first F-16s. There is an opinion that Ukraine is “preparing the ground” for F-16 strikes on Crimea, which is why it has been actively attacking the peninsula lately. What do you think about it?

I don’t think that’s what we’re talking about. Of course, we will also attack Crimea. But we can get Crimea quite well now. We primarily do not need F-16s as bombers. We are now doing a good job of bombing Crimea with our landers. Of course, the more planes, the better. But the F-16’s key mission is completely different. Now the main, so to speak, superpower of the Russians is what they are pestering us with the most, thanks to which they are still advancing near Pokrovsk – these are KABs and FABs. It is these air strikes with these gliding bombs that fly 70-90 kilometers. That is, their planes can drop these bombs without entering the coverage area of ​​our air defense. This is now our main problem along the entire front line, plus it is the problem of front-line cities. And the appearance of the F-16 should first of all solve precisely this problem. That is, first of all, the F-16s will fly to shoot down Russian bombers, and only then they will bomb themselves.

Why has the Defense Forces been so active in Crimea lately? Can this be considered a change of priorities?

No. This is a very thoughtful strategy. We are not striking Crimea for the sake of Crimea. We use Crimea precisely as a large Chernobaevka, where we generally dispose of both Russian air defense and Russian aviation.

Assuming that we manage to improve our position regarding Crimea, what will this give us strategically?

I don’t know the concept of “improving positions”; we will either take Crimea or we won’t take it. In fact, taking it purely technically from a military point of view is easier than Donbass. Because beyond the Donbass there is a wide Russian rear, even to the Urals. And Crimea is a peninsula. If only somewhere in one place we break out to the shore of the Sea of ​​Azov, from that moment Crimea is an island and it finds itself in the same position as the right-bank Kherson region was occupied when the bridges were destroyed. Therefore, as soon as we break out to the Sea of ​​Azov, Crimea is doomed. And from the moment we enter Crimea, even for Russian society this will be a signal that they have lost the war. It is our entry into Crimea that will be that absolute obvious military defeat that no propaganda can hide. We will see what processes this will further launch in Russia.

(C)UNIAN 2024