Operational Command "South" of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has published a comprehensive report on the military operation aimed to liberate Zmiinyi (Snake) Island in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, from the russian occupation.
The whole campaign took over two months and resulted in russian garrison forced out from this flat small (670 m in its longest) piece of land, though bearing significant strategic importance: its liberation opened the doors to the vessels with grain to safely leave Ukrainian ports.
Read more: The Liberation of the Snake Island by the Armed Forces of Ukraine Eases Navigation from Danube River to Black Sea
The russian Plot
According to the Operational Command, by deploying a full-time garrison, russians were trying to establish control over the northwestern area of the Black Sea, both on the surface and in the air.
The military explain, that the story goes back to the destruction of the russian flagship missile cruiser "Moskva". The warship provided all the russian fleet in the region with air defense capabilities. After it sank, shot by a "Neptun" missile, the occupiers "decided to create a stationary cruiser from the island, so to speak".
To make the island successfully take the role of the lost flagship, they deployed about thirty pieces of equipment: one "Tor-M2" surface-to-air missile (SAM) complex and a support vehicle to it; four "Pantsir-S1" anti-aircraft systems, two BM-21 "Grad" and "Tornado-G" multiple rocket launchers; one armored fighting vehicle; three humvees; two diesel power generators; and about 15 more objects carefully camouflaged with a net.
Ukrainian Countermeasures
The operation consisted of "an entire complex and cascade of management decisions", research and use of different types of weaponry and equipment, predicting the enemy’s tactics and developing own ones, effective and often "non-standard".
The challenges Ukrainian forces faced included russian air raids and artillery strikes; jamming; limited space for own artillery units to maneuver. Yet Ukrainian forces, in their turn, also created problems for the russian garrison, by launching endless strikes, disrupting the maritime logistics between the island and mainland, and demoralizing the enemy personnel.
As a result, russian garrison left the island, having destroyed all the remaining vehicles they still possessed. And the final act was the operation by the Special Operation Forces to raise the Ukrainian flag on Zmiinyi.
Retreating, russians destroyed the following amount of their own equipment (only those confirmed):
- three "Pantsir-S1" systems;
- one "Tor-M2" SAM and the corresponding support vehicle;
- one "Mys" radar station;
- one "Tornado-G" MLRS;
- one "Grad" MLRS;
- one jamming system;
- one small cutter;
- two armored fighting vehicles;
- eight light utility vehicles;
- one ammunition depot.
For these results, the Ukrainian Armed Forces involved various types of naval forces, a whole squadron of TB2 Bayraktar drones, Air Forces, rocket and barrel artillery, State Border Guard units, internal Security Service and Defense Intelligence personnel, and other units, united in the operational-strategical group "Oleksandria".
Stages of the Operation
There were several, the southern Command points out. First, Ukrainian forces cut off the means of logistical support to the russian garrison. This included launching strikes on supply vessels, military ships and boats that tried to facilitate the logistics of the garrison. At this stage, Ukrainians destroyed four Raptor-type cutters, a Serna-type landing craft, severely damaged the "Admiral Essen" frigate and then the "Vasiliy Bekh" rescue vessel sank, hit by Harpoon missiles.
Next, Ukrainian joint forces launched a sudden strike on the "Tavrida" drilling rig: russians deployed there their command headquarters and electronic warfare systems (jammers, radars, communication systems, etc.) which became targets for the Harpoon coastal defense missiles.
In addition to the direct losses russians suffered because of this attack, it made a psychological impact, as the Command notes. "It made a convincing impression of the courage and real powers possessed by the south defense forces".
As the result of the battle for Zmiinyi Island, russian armed forces have lost more than 900 mln USD in terms of various equipment. Here is also a video made by the operational-strategical group "Oleksandria" regarding this massive military campaign:
Read more: Trophy Russian Anti-aircraft "Pantsir-S1" Destroyed the First Enemy Target
