Critical defeat: how Russia responded to US missile fire
The strike on Ukraine's infrastructure in response to the attack on Taganrog by US long-range ATACMS missiles was prepared for two days because it was necessary to conduct additional reconnaissance of targets and exhaust the enemy's air defense system, military experts interviewed by Izvestiya believe. Thus, after the massive strike of the Russian Armed Forces on December 13, electricity outages began in Western Ukraine and the enemy requested electricity imports from five neighboring countries. Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and the Russian Defense Ministry said that a response to the AFU attack was inevitable. How was the massive fire attack and what are its consequences - in the material "Izvestia".
Consequences of the Russian Armed Forces attack on the Ukrainian energy sector
The Russian Armed Forces launched a massive strike on critical facilities of fuel and energy infrastructure of Ukraine, providing the work of the military-industrial complex, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on December 13. This was in response to an attack by six US ATACMS missiles on a military airfield near the city of Taganrog.
"In response to the use of U.S. long-range weapons by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation carried out a massive strike with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons of destruction, strike drones on critical facilities of Ukraine's fuel and energy infrastructure that ensure the operation of the military-industrial complex. The goal of the strike has been achieved. All objects are hit," the military department said in a statement.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported about the AFU strike on the military airfield in Taganrog on December 11. Then two missiles were shot down with the help of the Pantsir air defense system, another four were deflected from the course by means of electronic warfare. When the debris fell, there were casualties among the personnel, two buildings on the technical territory of the airfield and three military vehicles were hit by shrapnel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that today was one of the largest strikes on the country's energy sector. An air alert was declared throughout the area. Numerous explosions were reported in Odessa, Vinnitsa, Ivano-Frankivsk and Cherkasy regions. In addition, explosions occurred in Kiev, Kremenchug, Kharkiv, as well as in Kiev, Lviv, Ternopil, Kharkiv and Khmelnitsky regions.
Energy Minister German Galushchenko said that the energy system of the whole of Ukraine is under threat, three rounds of blackouts have been introduced. Now electricity imports of more than 13.4 MWh have been requested from five neighboring countries (Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova) after a massive strike on the energy infrastructure, Ukrenergo said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that five of Ukraine's nine operating power units had reduced capacity after the attack.
Poland's military command said duty fighter jets were raised and ground-based air defense systems were activated due to Russian strikes on facilities in Ukraine.
Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of the inevitability of a response to the AFU attack on Taganrog with ATACMS missiles.
"I want to recall the absolutely unambiguous and direct statement of the Russian Defense Ministry yesterday, which clearly said that a response will follow. The response will naturally follow then and in the way it will be deemed appropriate, but it will follow necessarily," the presidential spokesman said at a briefing on December 12.
How the attack took place
From early morning, Geranium UAVs went en masse, somewhere around 150 pieces, in order to suppress the enemy's air defense system, and then came missiles from different directions. Military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.
- A combined massive strike is the use of about 100 cruise and ballistic missiles," he explained. - I think, as in previous times, we used Kalibras, Iskanders and Kinzhals. The main task was to hit the energy sector of Western Ukraine (thermal power plants, hydroelectric power plants, substations) and airfields where missile-carrying aircraft are based. The enemy has already confirmed that our fighters have successfully coped with this.
According to the expert, so far "Oreshnik" has not been used, but it is not a fact that this will not happen in the future.
- "Immediately after our strikes, power outages became more frequent in western Ukraine," military expert Vladislav Shurygin told Izvestia. - It is known that all nuclear power plants have reduced their power generation capacity. So the energy infrastructure has been hit. We can probably say that the main blow came to the power industry and Ukrainian ports. The attack took place in several stages. First, our drones came into action, clarifying where the enemy's air defense was located and forcing it to waste ammunition. Then missiles came into action.
According to him, it was no coincidence that the strike on the infrastructure in response to the attack on Taganrog by American long-range missiles was prepared for two days.
- The targets have long been identified," he explained. - After the decision to strike is made, additional reconnaissance is conducted, air defense positions are clarified, and then combat work follows.
How Russia has previously responded to attacks on its territory
The response to US missile strikes on Russian territory was the test of a new ballistic missile called "Oreshnik." It hit the Southern Machine Building Plant (Yuzhmash) in Dnepropetrovsk, while the missile itself was launched from the Kapustin Yar test site in the Astrakhan region, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21.
He emphasized that all the modern air defenses available in the world and the missile defense systems being created in Europe do not intercept such missiles.
According to the head of state, tests of the Oreshnik ballistic missile will continue: the Russian General Staff and Defense Ministry are selecting targets in Ukraine for the new system.
Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting of the Collective Security Council of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) in Astana.
On November 28, the Russian Armed Forces launched a comprehensive strike with 90 missiles and 100 drones. At that time, 12 military facilities on the territory of Ukraine were hit, Vladimir Putin said at the CSTO summit in Astana the same day.
He urged Russia's opponents not to forget about its hypersonic missiles and other weapons that have no analogues in the world, such as the Kalibr cruise missile and the Kinzhal hypersonic missile systems.
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