Ukrainian forces launch dawn attacks on targets in Crimea
Drones operated by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched a series of attacks on Russian military installations in Crimea on Tuesday morning, a source within the power structures reports, as referenced by the Ukrainian Pravda portal. Separately, RBK Ukraine radio announced that naval drones targeted an oil base in Feodosia.
1:29 AM EST, December 6, 2023
The SBU targeted multiple areas, including the Nebo-M radar system near Baherove, a helicopter landing pad, the P-18 Terek radar system, and the Baikal-1M air defense control system in Strelkove village.
Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that they have intercepted and destroyed over 40 Ukrainian drones.
Feodosia strike
RBK-Ukraine radio concurrently reported that Tuesday's operation by the SBU and military intelligence included an attack on an oil base in Feodosia, Crimea, using naval drones.
According to sources, the attacks were successful with the Russian losses being significant. The oil terminal site housed around 30 fuel tanks, all of which were targeted.
Russian forces have four times more drones
Despite these successful attacks, Ukrainian soldiers interviewing with "Bild" discussed their concerns regarding Russian superiority in terms of drone technology. "The Russians have four times more suicide drones than us," claimed one unnamed soldier.
"A year ago, the Russian military had significantly more artillery ammunition. Now, they regularly deploy these inexpensive suicide drones against Ukrainian positions, even though it was the Ukrainian troops that first introduced them on the front line to counter Russia's superior conventional missiles," it stated.
One Ukrainian Armed Force soldier noted that Russia quickly absorbed the new tactics, "Russia learns from us every day. In just a few months, Russian companies began building suicide drones based on Chinese and Western designs for hobbyist and observation drones. It's currently reported that Russian companies deliver between 4,000 to 5,000 units of these weapons to their invasion forces monthly.
"This greatly surpasses what the Ukrainian industry produces; thus, Ukraine's defenders continue to rely on Western donations and purchases," - writes "Bild".
It is clear that the Russian war economy heavily outperforms the Ukrainian equivalent - and it continues to expand its lead two years into the war. "Without new Western supplies of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and advanced anti-drone technologies, Kyiv's defensive forces will increasingly fall behind," commented the German newspaper.
"Anyone who thought that supplying just over 100 modern Western battle tanks would be enough to halt Putin's army has severely underestimated Russia," Bild concluded.
