The SSU struck military vessels and an S-400 system in Kerch
As part of a 40-day operation to exert pressure on Russia, approved by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, fighters from the SSU’s ‘Alpha’ Special Operations Centre carried out strikes against Russian military support vessels in the temporarily occupied city of Kerch.
The operation targeted vessels located within the grounds of the ‘Zatoka’ shipyard. Russian air defence systems in the Kerch Strait area were also struck.
During the special operation, SSU drones struck the Project 15310 cable-laying vessels ‘Volga’ and ‘Vyatka’, as well as the passenger-cargo ferry ‘Petropavlovsk’, which was estimated to be 96 per cent operational. The strikes caused a major fire on the vessels.
The ‘Volga’ and ‘Vyatka’ were built for the Russian Ministry of Defence. They are designed to deploy the ‘Harmonia’ hydroacoustic surveillance system, which is used for underwater military reconnaissance. These vessels are also capable of deploying contactless mines to target ships, undersea pipelines, cables and other critical infrastructure.
In addition, SSU drones struck weaponry and a radar station belonging to an S-400 air defence missile system that was providing cover for the Kerch Strait area.
The SSU notes that strikes on military infrastructure in the temporarily occupied Crimea are reducing the Russian forces’ ability to use the peninsula as a logistical and military hub. The destruction of air defence systems paves the way for further high-precision strikes, whilst the neutralisation of ships and port infrastructure weakens the Russian force’s logistical support.
