Major exercises of Russian paratroopers in Crimea showed that there would be no one to defend Ukraine in the event of a Russian military landing on its territory.
The former head of the SBU, Colonel General Igor Smeshko, said this on the air of the talk show “Right to Power,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to a retired security official, the exercise involving 40 military transport aircraft was a response to the NATO Sea Breeze maneuver taking place in the Black Sea.
“There were exercises in Crimea - two thousand Russian paratroopers from the 7th Mountain Air Assault Division parachuted for the first time this year. Forty Il-76 aircraft, and in general Russia has only eighty such transport aircraft. At a low altitude of 600-800 meters, this is a very difficult terrain, with a distance of 100 meters, they landed on Cape Opuk as a response to the fact that today is the final phase of the Sea Breeze exercise.
NATO ships visited us, including an American destroyer with several dozen Tomahawk missiles, which theoretically even reach Russian territory. In total there are 30 such ships. The same British ship, a French reconnaissance ship, several frigates. That is, on the one hand, the Sea Breeze exercise took place, and on the other, a full-scale exercise with the landing of the Russian Federation. How long do you think we will exist in the world if we are talking about some initiatives?
We are not talking about one thing - who will strengthen the army? We have 50 thousand guys there. But if the mobilized Russian army, taking advantage of the destabilization of the situation in Ukraine, goes on the offensive, and even using aviation, is anyone saying that we urgently need to worry about strengthening the armed forces, about replenishment? Our units are currently understaffed,” Smeshko said.