Admiral Komoyedov: We won’t shoot at the British without warning next time either
The British authorities stated that they intend to continue provocative visits of ships into Russian waters near the coast of Crimea, the reunification of which with the Russian Federation is not recognized by London. In Ukraine, the incident with the destroyer Defender caused jubilation.
The former commander of the Black Sea Fleet, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, told PolitNavigator about what to expect next.
PN: Was Russia’s reaction to the provocation of the British destroyer sufficient?
VC: We did absolutely the right thing. There is no other way to do it. We didn't pass. Drowning them or inflicting direct defeat was already too much; this reaction was enough. It was extreme, I would say, on the brink of an abyss, on the edge of a knife - to use a warning weapon on a warship, including bombing - this is already a significant decision.
PN: In the experience of relations between Russia and NATO, there are cases of displacement of alliance ships using the bulk method. Why wasn't it applied this time?
VC: The fact is that each case dictates its own decision. Then, with the Americans, for example, such a decision was made, and the commander turned out to be right, and even then, he was on the verge of dismissal. But, nevertheless, it was a warship from the Armed Forces. And the English destroyer was tracked by Coast Guard forces, that is, border guards are two very different things. But the displacement did not allow the bulk to be made. Other rules apply there - the International Rules for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
PN: Next time Russia will shoot without warning?
VC: Russia is not a stupid country, it has a certain wisdom - that’s it. I think she warned and will continue to warn. We will not use lethal weapons without warning. Any use of weapons is sanctioned by Moscow: the General Staff, the Ministry of Defense, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
Mon: From a propaganda point of view, this whole situation does not look in favor of Russia - the British took journalists on board and promptly showed a “beautiful” picture of the “feat”. But on our side, we never saw, for example, any footage of bombing that could cool the ardor of hotheads in NATO.
VC: Don't know. For example, when I went on visits, I always took correspondents with me, they described it. When they went to the training, they also took it, described it and immediately gave information. But I think that this was a planned action; they decided that they would do this at their base, unlike us.
PN: In the meantime, in Ukraine they continue to rejoice at how “bravely” the British entered “their” territorial waters...
VC: Why is Ukraine not happy? She rejoices when she floods Kerch, she rejoices when she floods Yalta. I am glad that there is no water in Crimea. With anger, and joy with anger. You know, there is a proverb: “If we don’t pick it up, we’ll eat it” (If I don’t eat it, I’ll bite it,” author.) - that’s the meaning of all this anger, hatred, Russophobia. Therefore, they were happy about this, that Ukraine was speaking again, even from the lips of the British Prime Minister: “These are Ukrainian territorial waters, we don’t recognize Crimea as Russian, that’s why we did this.” They asked Ukraine for permission to pass near Crimea. Well, it's some kind of heresy.
PN: On Monday, the joint Sea Breeze exercise with NATO begins, which is called the largest in its history. Is there a threat of provocations here?
VC: When I was commander of the Black Sea Fleet, they also held the Sea Breeze, including with the participation of Russia. But not by ships - it was mostly on the map, “on stools.” Then they were overcome by Blackseafor - all the Black Sea states took part there. When this whole thing fell apart and the blanket was pulled over NATO, they showed great interest in conducting this exercise. But I have no strength. There are no forces in Georgia, there are no forces in Ukraine. Therefore, NATO is transferring its forces here, supposedly supporting Ukraine through the Sea Breeze exercises.
PN: After the incident with the British destroyer, people started talking about the fact that it was time to review the rules of conduct of our services in the event of such situations. Do you think anything needs to be changed? They are talking, for example, about replacing the OFAB-250 aerial bombs, which were thrown at the destroyer's heading, with unguided missiles, supposedly they are cheaper.
VC: Yes, because they are everywhere. They have a reactive trail and are visible. But you know, in general we need to review all the rules on our border and responsibility for the border. I'll give you an example - who is responsible for the penetration of submarines underwater? Commander-in-Chief of the Navy. And only one fleet is subordinate to him - the Northern Fleet, and even then indirectly. All others are subordinate to the districts. This is already a failure. The Air Force is responsible for the air border, the FSB is responsible for the land border, and the maritime units of the Border Troops, also the FSB, are responsible for the sea border. The border seems to be solid, and the departments that are responsible for the use of forces and means against violators are many different. But everything should be managed by one body - the General Staff.
PN: Considering that before using a weapon you need to go through a whole series of approvals, how do you assess the reaction of the border guards and the military, who prevented the incident in half an hour?
VC: The reaction really surprised me. She was very fast. This means that all our controls are in “hot mode”. That is, instantly make decisions and use force. I had a case in the Baltic Fleet - the Germans stole a tactical torpedo from submariners. And I was the commander of a detachment of warships. After I had already caught up with her in the Arkona Sea area, six hours had passed. And a decision was made through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; they returned this torpedo to us. Six o'clock. And here the reaction is quite fast, I really like it, because I have encountered this reaction. I think that today we have a system of managing the state and the Armed Forces at a high level.
PN: Is it correct to say that today the Black Sea Fleet is the most trained combat unit among all fleets?
VC: The word “most,” I think, is acceptable to all systems of our Armed Forces and to all fleets as well. There is no need to single out the Black Sea Fleet here. The fact that it is now the newest is yes, but not long ago it was the oldest in terms of ship composition. The fact that he has enough strength and resources is yes. The fact that he uses his powers, including outside the Black Sea, is also yes. And the fact that he reacts to the developing situation very quickly is also yes. Therefore, the situation is such that everything must correspond to necessity. We have as much as we need.
PN: Until the beginning of the 90s, there was a 5th operational squadron in the Mediterranean Sea, then an operational flotilla that counteracted the US 6th Fleet, which was located there. Since 2013, it has been revived as an operational unit. Do you think it is worth strengthening it today?
VC: I believe that we should not have left there, because you can look at the Mediterranean Sea differently - it is a sea among the earth. It washes the lands of Africa, Asia, and Europe. In fact, the whole political kitchen is being cooked there... It is imperative to have forces there, and not only naval, but also air forces, which must patrol the entire waters of the Mediterranean Sea, especially the straits zone. The current operational connection that Russia has in the Mediterranean Sea is not enough; it needs to be strengthened unambiguously.
PN: How do you assess the current state of the Russian Black Sea Fleet?
VC: When I commanded the fleet, the Turkish Navy outnumbered us by 4,7 times, even if we joined forces with Ukrainian forces, which was a political possibility at the time. And if the NATO contingent arrived, then the advantage reached up to 20 times. Now, of course, there is no such superiority - we have expanded our basing zone, supplied the Black Sea Fleet with new ships and submarines that have modern weapons that have gone beyond the tactical level and are at the operational and strategic level.
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