Destruction of Russian Ivanovets missile boat is final stage of complex operation - expert

He said this on the Espreso TV channel.

"We should consider the operation to destroy the Ivanovets small missile boat as the final stage of a series of measures. Because in order to destroy such a ship, a number of measures need to be taken. An important factor in the effectiveness of such an operation is the preliminary destruction of air defense systems. This is exactly what happened before the attacks on Sevastopol and the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet," explained Lakiychuk.

The expert added that before the destruction of the ship, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the airfield in Crimea, where Russian fighters were based.

"It became obvious that something was about to happen when the Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked air defense systems in western Crimea. That is, if there are strikes on air defense, it means that a corridor is being formed for future attacks. After that, there was a strike on the Belbek airfield. And it was there that Russian Su-34 and Su-30, which patrol the northwestern parts of the Black Sea, were destroyed," he added.

• On the night of January 31-February 1, soldiers of the Group 13 special unit of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence destroyed the Ivanovets missile boat of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The representative of the Defense Intelligence Andriy Yusov called the operation a significant result.