Russian ships ablaze, explosions heard in Crimea, Melitopol

Read more about the explosions in Russia and the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories in Espreso's weekly review.

Russian ships are burning - two strikes in two days

This week brought explosions in Russian ports and on board enemy ships. In particular, we are talking about the port in Novorossiysk, near which the first ship was hit. And also the damage to a Russian tanker.

• First, on August 1, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian Armed Forces of attacking two Black Sea Fleet ships located 340 kilometers from Sevastopol with unmanned boats. It was alleged that three unmanned naval boats tried to attack the patrol ships Sergei Kotov and Vasily Bykov, which were operating 340 km southwest of Sevastopol.

• On Wednesday, August 2, the Russian forces said that their ship in the Black Sea was attacked (again) by a crewless boat. Russian authorities blame Ukraine.

• On the night of August 3 to 4, a Ukrainian maritime drone struck the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak. The Main Intelligence Directorate noted that the ship was heavily damaged and is likely to be out of service for some time.

• On the night of August 5, powerful explosions were heard near the Crimean bridge. A representative of the occupation authorities in the Zaporizhzhia region, Vladimir Rogov, said that "according to preliminary information, a Russian SIG tanker was damaged as a result of an attack by naval drones in the Kerch Strait." According to the crew, the engine room was damaged. The ship cannot move independently, but there is no fuel leakage. Two tugs were sent to help it.

• According to ISW experts, Ukraine's previous blocking efforts have largely focused on Russian military targets on land, but it appears that Ukraine is now expanding its efforts to include maritime targets.

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Explosions in the temporarily occupied territories

In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, explosions are also heard in some places, but they have different origins, including inattentive actions by the occupying Russian forces themselves.

• In the evening of July 31, powerful explosions occurred in the temporarily occupied village of Mykhailivka near Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region. As it turned out, the Russian troops exploded on their own mines.

• On August 1, explosions were heard in Crimea, allegedly in the area of Balaklava, where the Russian Navy base, thermal power plant, and ammunition and equipment warehouses of the occupiers are located.

• On the evening of Wednesday, August 2, an explosion occurred in the temporarily occupied Melitopol. The Russian Defense Ministry said that six Ukrainian drones had been shot down by air defense systems.

• On the night of August 3 to 4, explosions occurred in the temporarily occupied Crimea, in Feodosia. The Russian Defense Ministry accuses Ukraine of a drone attack. It claims that 10 UAVs were allegedly destroyed by regular air defense systems, and three more drones were suppressed by electronic warfare.

• On the afternoon of Sunday, August 6, the Ukrainian Defense Forces' missiles damaged the Chonhar Bridge and the bridge across the Tonka Strait connecting the city of Henichesk to the Arabat Spit. According to the head of the local occupation administration, Vladimir Saldo, the strike allegedly caused complications with gas supplies in Henichesk.

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Moscow and other Russian cities are also restless

The beginning of the week again brought explosions to Moscow, not sparing other regions of Russia. The Russian authorities traditionally blamed Ukraine.

• On the night of August 1, another drone attack on Moscow took place - one of the drones hit the Moscow City tower, and the Russian Defense Ministry blamed Ukraine. Two drones were allegedly shot down by air defense, while one of the drones hit the same Moscow City tower as the previous time, destroying the floor where the Russian Ministry of Economy is located.

• On August 3, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of a drone attack in the Kaluga region. It said that six Ukrainian drones had been shot down by air defense systems. No one was allegedly injured or damaged as a result of the alleged attack.

• The Russians also said that on Sunday, August 6, at about 11 a.m., there was an attempt to break through to Moscow with drones, one of which was allegedly shot down by local air defense. Dozens of flights were delayed at the capital's Vnukovo airport.

Photo: gettyimages

Expert opinions

According to Serhiy Zgurets, director of the Defense Express information and consulting company, Ukraine is currently taking measures to counter Russia's attempts to dominate the Black Sea. He also notes that Ukraine has relied on the use of new attack marine drones.

"We expect that these measures will lead to the sinking of a number of Russian warships, especially those carrying Kalibr cruise missiles," the expert notes.

As for the attacks on Moscow, Zgurets believes that the resonance effect of the drone strikes on Moscow is significant and undermines the ability of Russian society to unanimously support Putin's policies. Of course, he emphasizes, the split in Russian society will not happen immediately, but these unmanned systems also play an ideological role.

Meanwhile, Valerii Riabykh, development director of the Defense Express information and consulting company, emphasizes that the downed Russian ship Olenegorsky Gornyak may not be restored. In the meantime, it may spend at least six months, or even a year, in the dock if it makes it there.

Defense Express military expert Ivan Kyrychevskyi believes that the port in Novorossiysk is used by Russians as a base for logistics of the Russian army in the south of our country. This port is strategic for the Russians.

"In addition to the fact that we have a clear fact of damage to the Russian landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak, there is another intrigue. Because one of the Russian authorities claimed that a ship called Suvorovets also participated in repelling the attack of our 'kamikaze' boats. The Suvorovets boat is an anti-sabotage boat. It is likely that this boat could not withstand the contact with our 'kamikaze' drone and went down," Kyrychevskyi suggests.

At the same time, Anton Pavlushko, an analyst at the international intelligence community InformNapalm, emphasizes that there are dozens of Russian targets in the Black Sea that can be attacked. These are targets that are constantly engaged in supplying the Russian army.

"There are plenty of Russian targets in the Black Sea right now, constantly supplying the Russian army or carrying stolen Ukrainian grain. There are dozens of them and we can attack them. No one will even ask questions, because everyone understands how Russia uses these ships," he says.