According to the spokesperson of the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine, Dmytro Pletenchuk, there is no confirmation of Sky News' information about the destruction by the Ukrainian military of the "Ropucha" amphibious assault ship of the Russian occupation army in the Sea of Azov on June 8.
Points of attention
- The Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine state that the information about the defeat of the Russian amphibious assault ship in the Sea of Azov has no confirmation.
- The Ukrainian military does not confirm a coordinated attack on an amphibious ship of the Black Sea Fleet.
- In the waters of the Black and Azov seas, Russian ships are used for exercises and may be under the protection of the coast guard.
- Navigation in the Sea of Azov is complicated by shallow depths and a limited number of recommended routes, which contributes to the mixing of enemy warships with civilian vessels.
- Russian invaders use the civilian fleet to cover military units in the Sea of Azov, which makes it difficult to control the situation in the region.
The South Defence Forces do not confirm the hit of a Russian landing ship in the Sea of Azov
Journalists of the publication, citing unnamed Ukrainian officials, stated that the Ukrainian military launched a coordinated attack on an amphibious ship of the Black Sea Fleet on the evening of June 8.
According to an anonymous Defence Force representative, the vessel recently moved from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.
"Unfortunately, as of now, this is news from the future," the Southern Defense Force spokesman said in response.
Pletenchuk emphasized that the enemy currently has three large amphibious and three small missile ships in the Sea of Azov, particularly in the Buyan-M project.
What are the Russian army ships doing in the Black Sea?
Pletenchuk noted that in the waters of the Black Sea, the Russian occupiers currently use submarines that replace each other.
The Russians have four submarines and three cruise missile carriers in the Azov-Black Sea region, but only two periodically enter the water.
The spokesperson of the Southern Defence Forces also added that Russian ships felt more at ease in the Sea of Azov and, therefore, decided to conduct exercises there.
Russians expect that they will probably be covered by the Kerch Canal, and this should complicate the work of Ukrainian drones. Of course, they are trying to build these structures there in the form of barges, boom barriers to narrow the passage, Pletenchuk noted.
According to him, the coast of the Sea of Azov remains occupied by the aggressor country, and enemy ships may be protected by the coast guard.
Mariupol, Berdyansk..., unfortunately, are located in the temporarily occupied territory. Therefore, they believe that it is safer there than in the Black Sea. But it is necessary to note such an important detail — navigation in the Sea of Azov is not so easy — there are shallow depths and there are not many recommended routes, — emphasised Pletenchuk.
According to him, because of this, the enemy's warships mix there with civilian vessels.
It has become the practice of the Russian invaders, who use the civilian fleet to cover military units.
