Why drones are more effective at the front than artillery — the explanation of the General Staff
Category
Ukraine
Publication date

Why drones are more effective at the front than artillery — the explanation of the General Staff

General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Why drones are more effective at the front than artillery — the explanation of the General Staff

During the last almost three years, there have been significant technological changes at the front. Because of this, drones on the front are more effective than classical weapons.

Points of attention

  • Drones have become more reliable and effective frontline tools due to technological shifts and the development of machine vision.
  • Priority directions for the Armed Forces and weapons manufacturers are currently aimed at improving unmanned systems for effective operation at strategic depth.
  • Ukrainian drones have demonstrated high efficiency, the ability to be used expediently in military logistics and to strike the enemy's critical infrastructure.
  • With the help of drones, the Ukrainian military carried out successful operations, provoking the Kremlin to withdraw its forces from the district of temporarily occupied Sevastopol.

The Armed Forces need more drones at the front

As reported by the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel Andriy Lebedenko, significant technological changes have taken place at the front during the last almost three years.

Therefore, the Armed Forces need constant improvement of unmanned systems — machine vision, elements of artificial intelligence, swarms of drones and modern EW tools.

The commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, emphasized that drones work both in the sky and in water and on land.

He added that the Armed Forces have extensive experience in working with drones in the air, which operate at a tactical depth (up to 20 km). Ukraine currently has more than 165 air assets alone.

We are currently communicating with manufacturers, determining directions for improving this depth. And we call on manufacturers to join us, visit our test sites and together improve the weapons and equipment necessary for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, — said Sukharevskyi.

According to Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Lebedenko, unmanned systems on the battlefield are already more effective than conventional weapons, including artillery.

That is why priority directions for the Armed Forces and weapons manufacturers are also technological. These are interceptors, artillery fire adjustment systems, counter-battery combat, unmanned systems capable of working effectively at operational (up to 100 km) and strategic depths (over 100 km).

Ukrainian drones targeted about 200 objects on the territory of the Russian Federation

The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that the Ukrainian military, thanks to the long-range kamikaze drones, targeted about 200 objects of critical infrastructure and the territory of the Russian Federation.

Syrsky noted that all these objects were related to "military logistics" and included factories, fuel depots and ammunition depots.

Syrsky reminded that naval drones sank about a third of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

It really became a trap for them and a grave for some [ships],” said the commander-in-chief.

He also added that the Kremlin was forced to "completely withdraw its forces" from the port of temporarily occupied Sevastopol after a series of Ukrainian attacks.

Category
Economics
Publication date

Zelenskyy approved NSDC sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet and the thieves of Ukrainian cultural heritage

Office of the President of Ukraine
Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has implemented sanctions imposed by the National Security and Defense Council on February 5 against 57 captains of the Russian shadow fleet and 55 thieves of Ukrainian cultural heritage.

Points of attention

  • President Zelenskyy has approved sanctions against the Russian shadow fleet and individuals involved in the illegal export of Russian oil and theft of Ukrainian cultural heritage.
  • The sanctions aim to complicate the operational activities of the shadow fleet and block assets of individuals violating Ukraine's cultural heritage.
  • Key figures targeted include captains of vessels involved in illegal shipments and senior officials of the Russian Ministry of Culture engaged in illegal archaeological activities in occupied territories.
  • The sanctions will hold individuals accountable and limit the shadow fleet's operations, encouraging partners to impose similar restrictions.
  • The measures also seek to draw global attention to violations of Ukraine's cultural identity and reduce the capabilities of the Russian shadow fleet and thieves of cultural values.

Zelenskyy approved NSDC sanctions — what exactly

This is stated in Zelensky's decrees No. 67 and No. 68 of February 5, published on the president's website.

Ukraine has imposed sanctions on 56 Russian citizens and one Iranian citizen, who are captains of vessels of the Russian shadow fleet and are also involved in exporting Russian oil to circumvent the price ceiling by transshipment of oil at sea and using other illegal measures.

The sanctions package specifically included the following tanker captains:

  • Liberty Mykola Tsoma,

  • Bolero Grigory Motaylenko,

  • Cassiopeia Alexander Yurpalov,

  • Callisto Alexander Filkin.

All of these tankers are under US, UK, and EU sanctions, and their operator is the sanctioned company Sovcomflot, which is also under US and UK sanctions.

Sanctions have also been imposed on:

  • Yevgeny Bezrukov, captain of the tanker Moti, operated by Gatik Ship Management, one of the largest shipowners of the shadow fleet,

  • Igor Kucherov, captain of the tanker Fjord Seal, operated by Prominent Shipmanagement Limited (registered in Hong Kong),

  • Iranian citizen Ali Mohseni, captain of the tanker Daksha, operated by Oceanlink Maritime DMCC (registered in the UAE).

The expected impact of the sanctions is to synchronize with sanctions already imposed by partners and encourage partners to impose new sanctions, which will limit the shadow fleet's ability to recruit experienced captains, as they will be exposed to the risk of having their assets frozen and their entry banned from a number of countries. This will increase the shadow fleet's costs and complicate its operations.

Thus, for the first time, the captains of the shadow fleet will bear individual responsibility for assisting the Russian Federation in circumventing the oil price ceiling, and the sanctions will force those working for the aggressor's tanker fleet to pay a personal price for this, and will make it more difficult for the Russian Federation to find new captains for its vessels.

Sanctions are also being introduced against persons responsible for the destruction of Ukrainian cultural identity by conducting illegal archaeological excavations in the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea and the removal of cultural values from the territory of Ukraine.

In particular, they included:

  • First Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Sergey Obryvalin,

  • Deputy Minister Volodymyr Osintsev,

  • Head of the Department of State Protection of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Roman Rybalo,

  • Director of the sanctioned Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Nikolai Makarov, who issued permits for illegal archaeological excavations in Crimea.

Sanctions have also been imposed on:

  • President of the Union of Museums of Russia, Director General of the sanctioned "State Hermitage" Mikhail Piotrovsky,

  • Director of the sanctioned "Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts" Elizaveta Likhacheva,

  • the head of archaeological expeditions, Sergei Solovyov, who was directly involved in illegal excavations on the territory of Tavrichesky Chersonese, a UNESCO monument.

Among persons with dual citizenship (a total of 18 people), sanctions were imposed, in particular, on:

  • First Deputy "Minister of Culture of the Republic of Crimea" Olga Burova, appointed to this position by the occupation administration,

  • the director of the Melitopol Museum of Local Lore, Yevgeny Horlachev, who gave the occupiers information about the storage location of the "Scythian Gold" and received an order from the occupation authorities for this,

  • Head of the Department of History and Archaeology of Ancient and Medieval Crimea at the sanctioned "Vernadsky Crimean Federal University" Elzara Khairedinova, who is leading an illegal archaeological expedition in the occupied territory of Crimea.

Illegally registered in the occupied territories under the legislation of the Russian Federation are museums that operate on the basis of expropriated cultural values: "State Historical and Archaeological Museum-Reserve "Tavrian Chersonese", "Eastern Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve", "Central Museum of Taurida".

Expected impact of sanctions: blocking the assets of individuals involved in the theft of Ukraine's cultural heritage; drawing the attention of partner countries to the aggressor state's illegal archaeological excavations in the TOT, encouraging them to introduce their own sanctions that will deprive these individuals of the opportunity to participate in international cultural events and promote their propaganda narratives there.

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