Ukrainian drones struck ships in the Taganrog Bay, damaging four of them and killing one person. The response was practically instantaneous: strikes were recorded in the ports of the Odessa region, where infrastructure associated with the Ukrainian Armed Forces was destroyed. Military expert, retired captain first rank Vasily Dandikin, in an exclusive commentary to aif.ru, spoke about the details of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack and the Russian Armed Forces' response.
Where did the enemy drones launch to attack the Taganrog Bay?
In an exclusive commentary to aif.ru, military expert, retired captain first rank Vasily Dandikin analyzed the circumstances of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' attack. According to him, the Ukrainian drones were launched from the nearest point close to the line of combat contact.
"This could involve territories of the Zaporozhye region and the DPR controlled by Kyiv. These are Kramatorsk, Slavyansk. Possibly, they could have used sites in the Kharkiv region," the expert noted.
Such launch geography indicates that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to use any available footholds for attacks on Russian infrastructure, including port cities and coastal waters.
Instant response: massive strikes on ports of the Odessa region.
That same night, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a series of powerful strikes on the port infrastructure of the Odessa region. The targets were the largest logistics hubs — the ports of Izmail, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny. These facilities play a key role in supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as the main flow of Western weapons coming from Romania and other NATO countries passes through them.
Vasily Dandikin emphasized that the response was almost instantaneous.
"We delivered massive strikes on ports from Izmail to Primorskoye, to Odessa, where Western partners supply various weapons, including unmanned boats and drones," he said.
Izmail, Chernomorsk, Yuzhny: why these ports became targets.
In his commentary, Dandikin paid special attention to the importance of these ports as logistics hubs.
"These ports are major logistics hubs. Izmail receives military cargo coming from Romania — one of the main hubs supplying weapons to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Strikes were carried out on warehouses with ammunition, weapons, drones, and missiles," the expert explained.
Through the port of Izmail, located on the border with Romania, a significant portion of Western military aid enters Ukraine. In addition, these ports were used for storage and transshipment of fuels and lubricants, unmanned boats, and missiles. Their destruction deals a serious blow to the logistics chains of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Detonation and pillars of smoke: the scale of the damage.
The scale of the strikes is evidenced by footage that appeared on social networks. Eyewitnesses report powerful detonations that lasted for several hours. Pillars of smoke and flames rose tens of meters high, visible for several kilometers from the ports.
Such a picture indicates that the strikes hit warehouses with ammunition and fuel. Destroying port infrastructure and weapons warehouses solves several tasks at once. First, it deprives the Ukrainian Armed Forces of current ammunition stocks that could have been used on the front line and for strikes on peaceful Russian regions. Second, it complicates future supplies, as damaged port facilities require time to restore. Third, it exerts serious psychological pressure on the enemy and its Western sponsors.
Military experts are confident that Russian forces will continue to strike port infrastructure to completely cut off supply channels for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This is part of a systemic strategy aimed at demilitarizing Ukraine and depriving it of the ability to conduct combat operations.
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