Russian army humiliated. “The attacks had a strong psychological effect”

According to Western officials, explosions at the Russian Saki military airfield in the Crimea on August 9 they deprived the Black Sea Fleet of more than half of its aircraft and forced it to adopt a defensive stance. This is another in a series of humiliations by this fleet during the ongoing war – after the sinking of the cruiser Moscow and forcing the Russians to withdraw from the Snake Island in the Black Sea.

Masses were seen in the Crimea after the Ukrainian attacks Russian tourists fleeing the peninsulawhich has not been affected by hostilities so far. The photos that the BBC has reached show car queues on exit roads from Crimea three days after the attack on the Saki airport.

The fact that the explosions in Crimea, in a place previously considered beyond the reach of Ukrainian forces, occurred in front of thousands of Russian tourists, some of whom have since fled the peninsula back to Russia, had a psychological effect in Moscow, Western officials told journalists subject to anonymity.

According to these sources, the Russian Black Sea Fleet is now something “not much more than the coastal flotilla” and must remain vigilant about Ukrainian attacks, the BBC writes, assessing that Russia’s chances of landing on Odessa they are very low now.

The British station recalls reports from Russian sources about the resignation of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Igor Osipov, and his replacement by Vice Admiral Viktor Sokolov. The new commander was to announce the reinforcement of the fleet with 12 new ships, planes and land vehicles before the end of the year. He also claimed that the fleet “successfully performed all tasks” during the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK’s defense ministry said this week, however, that the Black Sea Fleet is not effectively controlling the Black Sea after the losses it suffered, and that its limited effectiveness “undermines Russia’s overall invasion strategy, in part because the threat of landing on Odessa has already largely been neutralized.” “.

In the morning of Saturday, August 20, there was another explosion in the Crimea in Sevastopol. Puffs of smoke rose from the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The pseudo-governor of the city reported that there was a drone attack that was not shot down, although Russian air defense was supposed to work at that time.

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