Commander of the Naval Forces of Ukraine, Viecadmiral Alexei Shepap, stated that in 2022 Russia managed to launch a successful offensive from the temporarily occupied Crimea. In an interview with Radio Liberty, he noted that although the enemy attacked from different directions, it is the breakthrough from the south that deserves special attention and analysis.
According to Zhpapa, the invasion of Crimea cannot be considered exceptional - the Russian troops were moving from Chernihiv, Kyiv region, Belarus, Donetsk region. However, the fact that Russia has been able to move from the south raises questions.
"The enemy was preparing for this war and came from different directions ... Just that he managed to do it, it should already be understood," he said.
The naval direction and strategy of
the Navy commander stressed that Russia has been preparing in the maritime direction for years. The Black Sea Fleet was significantly upgraded-new frigates, boats of the winged rockets "Caliber" and submarines were introduced into it.
"The enemy concentrated all his attention on the Black Sea Fleet," she emphasized.
According to Viceadmiral, Moscow considered the Black Sea fleet not only as a tool for influencing Ukraine, but also as a base for the projection of force in the Mediterranean. Because of this, since 2014, Russia has actively used Syrian Expressions - regular sea supply of equipment and weapons to Syria through the Black Sea.
The Black Sea, as a bridgehead of global pressure
, believes that control over the Black Sea is a Kremlin's strategic task. This allows Russia to influence the situation on the southern flank of Europe, to keep NATO pressure and to strengthen positions in the Middle East.
Thus, offensive from Crimea is only one of the manifestations of a long -term strategy that includes not only hostilities but also the geopolitical ambitions of Russia.
