Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, marineforum documents current maritime events in the Black Sea, the Mediterranean and the Baltic Sea. As always these days, there is hardly any news that can be independently verified.
15 March 2022
+++ Schiffsverband aus 14 Einheiten nähert sich Odessa von Süden aus
Ukrayinska Pravda reports as of 7 p.m. local time that, according to the military commander of Odessa, the local population has been subjected to an air and sea offensive since the morning. Around 90 rounds of heavy weapons were fired in 14 hours, which are said to have resulted in two casualties.
According to military analysts, midday satellite images show three groups of ships in the Black Sea consisting of 14 units of significant size heading north towards Odessa
Northern group: 3 larger landing ships type Ropucha, 2 fishing vessels (possibly tugs or minesweepers)
middle group: 4 FK frigates
southern group: 1 cruiser Moskva, 2 landing ships type Alligator, 1 landing ship type Morgunov
14.03.2022
+++ Russian drone apparently crashed in Romania
The AP news agency reports that a Russian-made unmanned aerial vehicle has crashed in northern Romania (Bistritz-Nassau county). It is the second such incident within a few days in the NATO area. According to the "Defence Romania" portal, which claims to have analysed images of the wreckage and regional media reports, it is said to be an Orlan 10 surveillance and reconnaissance drone, a medium-range unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) developed for the Russian armed forces. With a wingspan of just over 3 metres and a weight of 12.5 to 16.5 kilograms depending on the equipment, the drone can be used for various missions, including search and rescue missions, for training purposes, as a jammer, for radio signal detection and for tracking targets in difficult terrain. As the aircraft apparently had no markings, "the origin of the aircraft could not be clarified and its owner could not be identified", according to the Cluj County Public Prosecutor's Office.
+++ Crash also in Croatia
A drone that crashed near the Croatian capital Zagreb last week was significantly larger and heavier. It was a Tupolev Tu-141 "Strizh" aircraft. The 14-metre-long and more than six-tonne drone from Soviet production in the 1970s crashed into a park on Thursday evening (10.03.2022) around six kilometres from Zagreb city centre and just 200 metres from a residential area. This obsolete drone was also in the arsenal of the Ukrainian armed forces. Following the crash of the reconnaissance device, which may have been launched from Ukrainian territory, Croatia's prime minister called for better cooperation within NATO.
12 March 2022
+++ Russian troops appear to be pushing from Crimea towards Odessa (bypassing Mykolaiv)
+++ Russian airstrikes spread to western Ukraine, targeting an airbase (which also houses the International Peace and Security Centre) near Lviv and a military installation next to the Polish border
+++ Russia is apparently increasingly attacking agricultural infrastructure, silos, grain silos and food warehouses in order to disrupt Ukraine's food supply
+++ Finland reports interference and "unusual disturbances" with GPS signals from commercial aircraft near Kaliningrad and close to its eastern border with Russia
+++ The Italian police in Trieste have confiscated the 143 metre long superyacht "Sailing Yacht A" belonging to the Russian billionaire Andrey Melnichenko (owner of the fertiliser manufacturer EuroChem Group and the coal company SUEK)
+++ After Lloyds Register, the Norwegian ship certifier DNV is also handling the Russian business
07 March 2022
+++ Russian Black Sea Fleet ship hit during a missile mission?
On 7 March 2022, the Ukrainian naval command announced in a preliminary message on social media that a ship from the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been hit during a missile mission as part of the defence of port facilities in the Odessa region and had then withdrawn. The vessel in question is said to have been the heavy patrol boat "Vasily Bykov" (type ship project 22160, 94 metres, 1,500 tonnes). Although this class only carries a 57mm gun on the forecastle, it is said to be modular and can also be equipped with land-based cruise missiles. The footage shows an exchange of fire from and to sea, possibly from a land-based artillery/FK platform. The material is in no way unambiguous: the first sequence obviously does not show the Russian OPV, but a burning merchant ship by day, the second sequence is a night shot of a firefight - with emotional value, but without evidential character.
Ukraine: land-sea battle; photo: mil.in.ua
Heavy patrol boat Bykov class "Vasiliy Bykhov"; Photo: Michael Nitz
3 March 2022
+++ On 3 March, the Ukrainian navy sank its flagship "Hetman Sagaidachny" itself.
The 3,500-tonne displacement Krivak III-class ship was originally built at a shipyard in Kerch on the east coast of the island of Crimea as the last of the eight Krivaks intended for the Soviet Coast Guard and was put into Ukrainian service in 1993. The 30-year-old frigate was undergoing repairs in one of the three large shipyards in the harbour city of Mykolaiv when the commander received the order to open the valves and detonate an explosive charge. This was to prevent it from falling into the hands of the advancing Russian troops and being exploited for propaganda purposes, even though it was not currently operational. The Ukrainian defence minister has confirmed this approach.
"Hetman Sahaidatschnyj" after the self-sinking, photo: Олександр Ліпатніков - Own work (Wikipedia)
26 February 2022
+++ On 26 February 2022, the Ukrainian rescue ship "Saphir" was captured by Russian units of the Black Sea Fleet
According to reports by RBC-Ukraine (Ukrainian news agency) and Ukrayinska Pravda, which are based on a note from the Ukrainian Ministry of Infrastructure, the Ukrainian rescue ship "Saphir" was captured by Russian units of the Black Sea Fleet on 26 February 2022, transferred to Sevastopol and seized there. The incident is said to have taken place in connection with the shelling, occupation and capture of survivors of the Ukrainian naval station on Snake Island (Zmiinyi, according to legend also the burial place of Achilles, the tragic hero of the Trojan War) just twenty nautical miles east of the Danube Delta. The civilian-crewed ship is said to have been on a humanitarian mission, possibly to rescue the island's crew. There is no longer any radio contact with the ship. Ukraine has reported that Russia has violated international maritime law and the Paris Declaration on the Law of the Sea with this action.
Rescue ship SAPHIR, Ukraine; Photo: ukrayinska pravda
25 February 2022
+++ On 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian reports, units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet occupied the isolated island.
There are only a few islands in the Black Sea. One of these is the small Snake Island (Zmiinyi), located around twenty nautical miles east of the Danube delta and measuring only around 250 metres in a square, as well as a lighthouse, a few antenna masts and a few buildings. It was not until the beginning of 2000 that the disputed affiliation to Ukraine was settled amicably with Romania. It is strategically important for Ukraine because its possession secures Ukraine corresponding rights to mineral resources and control of coastal maritime traffic.
According to Ukrainian reports, on 24 February 2022, the first day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet surrounded the isolated island, radioed the border guard crew there to surrender and, upon their refusal, bombarded the island with artillery fire from the ship's guns. It has not been verified whether Russian naval aviation forces were also involved in the bombardment. The 13 members of the border guard troops were killed, it was initially reported for a good three days, until Russian media reported on the destruction of all facilities on the island and the internment of all 82 (!) surviving islanders in Sevastopol. They had to give up their defence because they had run out of ammunition. According to Ukrainian media, the Russian units involved were the guided missile cruiser "Moskva" (Slava class, project 1164, 11,800 tonnes, in service since 1982) and the "Vasily Bykov", type ship of the Bykov class (project 22160, 1,300 tonnes, in service since 2018). A video (rtl-news) shows the clearly recognisable cruiser just off the island.
It was certainly an unequal battle. It was initiated with the anonymous radio message: "This is a Russian warship. I suggest you lay down your weapons and surrender to avoid bloodshed and unnecessary casualties. Otherwise we will open fire." After a brief consultation on the choice of words, the island replied: "Russian warship, f*** you!". This recorded and published response went viral on social media. The subsequent interruption of the radio connection to the island and the lack of information gave rise to the interpretation that the border guards had died a hero's death.
English 
German
0 Kommentare