Author: Rainbow Kursk
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the six amphibious warships leaving the Baltic Sea this week will head to the Mediterranean Sea to participate in naval exercises there. It will then head north into the Black Sea, joining the Black Sea Fleet there and strengthening its amphibious combat capabilities.
Observers believe that this move is similar to the Russian military from the Baltic Fleet to the Pacific Fleet before the Battle of Tsushima during the Russo-Japanese War, and this time it is also from the Baltic Fleet to reinforce the Black Sea Fleet, in order to support Russia's possible large-scale intervention in Ukraine.
Photo: The Russian Toad-class tank landing ship photographed during the voyage.
On Monday, three Toad-class tank landing ships (Type 775) of the Russian Navy's Baltic Fleet were reportedly found leaving the area. The next day, two other Toad-class landing ships and a new Ivan Green-class large landing ship (Type 11711) followed and sailed out of the military harbor.
On Wednesday, the first three landing ships began sailing south through the English Channel, which was closely watched by the Royal Navy. The next three landing ships were also found sailing out of the Baltic Sea into the Atlantic Ocean. This time, the Russian Ministry of Defense confirmed that these amphibious warships would go to the Mediterranean Sea and then sail into the Black Sea, and the purpose of their operations was self-evident.
Photo: The amphibious fleet includes a newly added Ivan Green-class large landing ship.
The ships of the Russian amphibious combat force are relatively backward, mainly based on toad-class tank landing ships, which are medium amphibious combat ships that can carry main battle tanks for beach landing and have strong suppressive firepower.
The fleet also includes a newly added Ivan Green-class large landing ship, which, in addition to retaining flood-water landing capabilities, has also enhanced the ability to conduct air landing operations, carry helicopters for vertical landings, or support landing sites. However, in general, it is still a landing ship in the traditional sense.
Russia does not currently have amphibious assault ships, so it is difficult to achieve long-range operations in amphibious operations. After arriving in the Black Sea, these landing ships will still use bases such as Sevastopol as the core for land-to-land short-range amphibious operations, and the landing force used by them should be the Black Sea Fleet's own Marine Corps.
Pictured: The T-72B3 main battle tank of the 126th Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet, in response to the Ukrainian Javelin attack missile, welded a grille on the turret.
The Black Sea Fleet originally had 7 landing ships, and in the previous large-scale exercises, 3 Toad-class landing ships and 2 Crocodile-class landing ships were dispatched. If the 6 landing ships can join this time, it will double the amphibious combat strength of the Black Sea Fleet, after all, for Russia, tanks are difficult to build.
The Landing and Anti-Landing Maneuvers of the Black Sea Fleet revolved around operations on the Crimean Peninsula, with the supposed enemy being Ukraine and the Western fleet that might intervene in combat missions. Considering the continued tension between Russia and Ukraine recently, if the Ukrainian army breaks through the Isthmus of Perekop between the peninsula and the mainland and goes south, and at the same time blockades and breaks the diplomatic relations in part of the Black Sea, then in theory, the Russian army on the Crimean Peninsula will be in an unfavorable state of isolation and helplessness, and there may even be an unfavorable situation in which the peninsula will be captured in a short period of time, which requires the Russian army to carry out anti-landing and implement amphibious landings in the rear of the Ukrainian army.
Of course, we know that the Ukrainian army does not have this combat capability, and the landing operation of the Russian army will be more of a deterrent or intervention operation to actively respond to the international situation.
Photo: The Black Sea Fleet conducts a massive amphibious landing operation.
It is also worth noting that the Russian Navy, which has just concluded the Sino-Russian-Iranian joint military exercise, has made new moves.
The Dreadnought-class cruiser Varyag from the Russian Pacific Fleet, the Dreadnought-class large anti-submarine ships Admiral Tributs and the tanker Boris Bhutma in the Gulf of Oman will also cross the Suez Canal and enter the Mediterranean Sea to make peace with the Amphibious Fleet. If these ships all enter the Black Sea, the strength of the Black Sea Fleet will be greatly enhanced, and the fleet will have 2 large guided missile cruisers and a number of small and medium-sized ships, as well as a large amphibious fleet.
It seems that the pressure on Ukraine has increased a lot, and the Ukrainian Navy, which has only small ships, cannot compete with the powerful Black Sea Fleet, which may be to use force deterrence to prevent Ukraine from carrying out armed adventures instigated by the United States.
Photo: The cruiser Varyag of the Russian Pacific Fleet will also enter the Mediterranean.
Photo: The accompanying large anti-submarine ship "Admiral Tributs" (anti-submarine destroyer).