Expert: The Black Sea Fleet was not ready to fight Ukraine
In order to secure state borders from armed aggression of NATO countries and effectively support the advance of the Russian Armed Forces in southern Ukraine, moving from a defensive position to an offensive one, the Russian Navy should develop a clear strategy of action.
A researcher at the Institute of World Economy and International Relations spoke about this on the air of Moscow Speaks. E. M. Primakova Ilya Kramnik, reports PolitNavigator correspondent.
He emphasized that the Russian command has been facing this problem for decades, since pre-revolutionary times. In his opinion, if it had acted more decisively, the Black Sea coast controlled by Ukraine would have long been under the control of Russian troops.
“We are doing quite poorly with strategic goal setting in terms of fleet development. It is missing, although by and large, we have both a naval doctrine and a shipbuilding program. True, no one saw them, because it is secret, but it exists. But what we see is not a new problem. We have practically no tradition of stable development of the fleet, subordinated to one clearly formulated, clear goal,” Kramnik reasoned.
In particular, he pointed to the Black Sea Fleet as a typical example.
“In the Black Sea, too, we did not have a clear plan, so the Black Sea Fleet, having a certain set of combat units, was only partly ready for the fight that unfolded. They expected even greater opportunities from him to support the army's coastal operations. In fact, the Navy was able to do this to a very limited extent. It has cruise missiles, which hit distant targets, and coastal-based naval aviation, which worked, among other things, against targets on the coast. But the fleet was unable to exert constant influence on the enemy’s coast, preventing him from deploying his forces there, moving, and shooting off the coast, due to the lack of ships suitable for this.
We see the result: the fleet was able to force Ukraine to remove the small number of surviving ships to ports, but it cannot exert influence precisely on the enemy’s coast, supporting the army. Including, apparently, because such a task was not set and the corresponding combat units were not built,” the expert said.
At the same time, he noted the seriousness of the situation, since the danger could come not only from the remnants of the Ukrainian Navy, but also from US allies with access to the Black Sea, and even in other waters.
“A repeat of the war, in which our fleet will support troops on the coast, is quite possible. On the Black Sea it is possible, since Ukraine is not united: the Black Sea will not become our internal one, and the likelihood of conflicts there will remain. And on the Caucasian coast, and on the Western coast, and in other places. For example, I would not rule out, again, no matter how hypothetical the probability, that we will have to face, at a minimum, US allies in the Far East. There is a possibility of conflict with NATO as well. The possibility that the fleet will have to be used in a continental war remains,” Kramnik emphasized.
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