Russians launch an average of 20 missiles a month at Ukraine

Andriy Ryzhenko, an expert at the Center for Defense Strategies, a first-rate captain in the Ukrainian Navy Reserve, said that Russian invaders are now launching an average of 20 missiles a month at Ukraine.

According to Ukrinform, he said this on Ukrainian Radio.

"The number of missiles that the Russians are launching now is less than it was, for example, in the winter, but the attacks continue. Russia uses about 20 missiles per month, mainly trying to hit the targets that are associated with our counteroffensive. In particular, we are talking about possible arms supplies by Ukraine's partners. On the positive side, our air defense system shoots down most of these missiles, but the threat remains. In addition, we know that the Russians are now creating a new grouping in the Azov Sea, which will be called the Azov Naval District and will be part of the Black Sea Fleet based in Mariupol. They can have three Karakurt missile ships there: one is already ready, and two are still under construction. That is, the threat of a missile attack from the occupiers in this area remains. The threat of a missile attack from the Caspian Sea also remains. The enemy has four ships based there," the expert noted.

He added that the Russians have warships in the Mediterranean Sea, but will not fire from there.

"Missiles fired from the Mediterranean Sea are forced to fly over the territory of NATO countries - Turkey and Greece. I think this is impossible, because such actions will automatically be regarded as an attack on a NATO state, and these missiles will be shot down. For Russia, the launch of Kalibr missiles is a serious challenge. The first series of these missiles was launched back in 2015 from the Caspian Sea at targets in Syria. At that time, the Kalibrs were flying over the territory of Iran, with which they had reached an agreement. However, some of the missiles simply fell in the mountainous terrain due to flaws in the route programming. As for the Mediterranean Sea, it is virtually impossible to use missile weapons against Ukraine from there," Ryzhenko explained.

Regarding Ukraine's use of drones, the Center for Defense Strategies expert emphasized that it is not only about attacking enemy positions, but also about protecting Ukrainian islands, as well as detecting and neutralizing sea mines.

"All the top-priority tasks for our Navy are in the near sea zone. This is a stretch of sea up to 40-100 nautical miles from the coast.Drones can solve many tasks here.First of all, mine countermeasures.Nowadays, the search and destruction of sea mines is a very urgent task, as there are many of them in rivers, as well as in the Black and Azov Seas.Drones are ideal for this mission, especially unmanned boats that can be placed on the sea surface and will search, identify and destroy sea mines.This is effective because they work around the clock and are inexpensive. These are robots that do the work that a person controls from the coast, staying safe. Second, we need drones to protect our maritime infrastructure of islands and spits. On the same Zmeinyi Island, it is not worth keeping a ship or boat with people, it is better to put a drone with sensors and we will have full information about what is happening around the island," he summarized.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 17/07/2023