Strike on Crimean Belbek airfield: Expert names possible goals and consequences
Photo: Expert spoke about strikes of Armed Forces of Ukraine on Belbek airfield in Crimea (mil.ru)
When carrying out yesterday's attack on Russian enemy objects on the territory of the temporarily occupied Crimea, in particular in the area of the Belbek airfield, the Defense Forces of Ukraine could attack several targets at once, says Oleksandr Musiienko, head of the Center for Military Legal Research.
He expressed the opinion that the target, in particular, was the command post of the Russian occupiers, and also "targets could be warehouses with missiles and guided aerial bombs, weapons and, of course, aircraft."
"Aviation can be hit, especially the one that is on duty, preparing for departure. They are, as a rule, fueled, and accordingly, when hit, it can cause a serious fire at the airfield," the analyst noted.
From this point of view, Storm Shadow missiles can also be used, he added.
Although the global goal was most likely to destroy the command post and disable the airfield itself, to deprive the Russians of the opportunity to use Belbek, notes Musiienko.
Commenting on the possible consequences, the expert explained that now the interventionists would not be able to use it as intended, at least "for a certain period of time".
"But I am also aware that they will restore it. And so far it has not been observed that they are abandoning Belbek, redeploying aviation and operating from other airfields. Time will tell, it is too early to draw conclusions," he emphasized.
Moreover, according to his words, the Russian invaders will reduce the number of flights in the near future.
"For what period will depend on how quickly they will be able to recover. And the second is whether we will let them do it. That is, how quickly our forces will be able to repeat the strike," Musiienko said.
The analyst believes that disabling the airfield can be "a matter of not one, not two attacks, but more."
"But it seems to me that the goals are clear and Ukrainian forces will continue to hit them," the expert summarized.
Explosions in Crimea on January 31
Yesterday afternoon there were repeated explosions in the temporarily occupied Crimea. Local Telegram channels published photos and videos showing traces of rockets in the sky.
The network also wrote about an alleged fire in the area of the Belbek airfield in Sevastopol. At the same time, the Russians announced that they allegedly tried to attack the temporarily occupied Crimea with dozens of missiles.
Later, the commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykola Oleshchuk, made a statement, hinting at an attack on the Belbek airfield.
And already on February 1, Russian mass media reported that a communication point could have been attacked at the Belbek airfield in Sevastopol.
According to the spokesman of the Air Force of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yurii Ihnat, as a result of yesterday's explosions in Crimea, in particular, in the area of the Belbek airfield, certain objects were damaged. But to establish the exact consequences, it is necessary to wait for the confirmation of intelligence or satellite images.
