While the eastern and southern battlefields were in full swing, the southwestern coastline of Ukraine was also filled with the tension of "mountain rain is coming". After the loss of Snake Island, the Odessa landing battle has become a common word in the mouths of Western military experts. On Monday, surface ships deployed by the Russian Navy in the southern Black Sea fired "caliber" cruise missiles at key strategic areas such as Odessa and Nikolayev, destroying Ukrainian army fuel depots and backup airfields in the aforementioned areas. The war lasted for 12 days, and the airfields and port facilities of the Ukrainian Navy and Air Force were destroyed by Russian bombing, but there were still Ukrainian Air Force fighters who took off from time to time to fight against Russian warplanes. The "darkly calculated" sinking of the Russian frigate on March 7 shows that the Ukrainian Navy is still fighting!
(Russian ship launches 'caliber' missiles in the Black Sea to strike key targets in Odessa)
Before the war, the Russians mobilized hundreds of warships to the Mediterranean and Black Seas, including three "Glory-class" missile cruisers, dozens of large landing ships and supply ships, as well as advanced submarines and light missile frigates. Two of the three Glory-class cruisers were deployed in the Mediterranean to intercept NATO's carrier fleet, and the other was deployed to the southeastern Black Sea off Ukraine as a post-landing shield to deter possible interference by NATO forces. In the above-mentioned seas, the equipment advantage of the Russian Navy over the Ukrainian Navy is overwhelming. After intensive air strikes and surface destruction by the Russian Navy and Air Force, the Ukrainian Navy is believed to have been completely annihilated.
In fact, several missile boats of the Ukrainian Navy survived the bombing and have been looking for opportunities to attack the Surface Ships of the Russian Navy. Thanks to the maneuverability of the speedboats and the light hostility of the Russian Navy, the Ukrainian Navy successfully plotted against a Russian light missile frigate on March 7 by using two speedboats to cooperate with shore-based rocket artillery tactics. Russian media reporters revealed on the evening of March 7 that the Russian frigate (Vasyl Bykov), which was hit by a Ukrainian shore-based rocket, finally sank after experiencing an explosion and fire. If the Russian Navy can sum up the lessons in time, it will definitely feel that this time it has suffered a loss and has not suffered any injustice. It is also necessary to admire the extremely ingenious tactical design of the Ukrainian Navy.
Russian reporters said that on the same day, the Russian army patrolling the coast off Odessa, Ukraine, found two Ukrainian Navy speedboats (Gurza and Island) approaching, so they sent the "Vasyl Bykov" corvette to intercept and destroy, but the Russian corvette was lured by two Ukrainian Navy speedboats to the shore-based fire ambush area near the coastline, and then covered by the fire of the BM-21 rocket artillery deployed in advance by the Ukrainian army. Vasyl Bykov is the first ship of the Russian Navy's Type 22160 corvette, and it will only be completed in 2020 to join the combat sequence, making it the most flexible tactical platform for the Russian Navy.
The Type 22160 corvette has an avant-garde stealth design on the outside, a modular hull design that allows for the rapid installation of weapons and equipment required for specific combat missions, and the type 22160 corvette is equipped with weapons and equipment including anti-submarine, ground strike, and anti-aircraft weapon systems. Previously, it was put into the Syrian battlefield by the Russian army for actual combat testing, and this participation in the Ukrainian war further highlighted the trust of the Russian Navy in it. However, no one could have imagined that the corvette "Vasyl Bykov", which was heavily loaded by the Russian Navy, had "overturned in the gutter". It can only be said that any army that has a light enemy mood at any time will pay a terrible price.
(Russian Navy Type 22160 corvette "Vasyl Bykov")