Ukrainian forces successfully shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber over Snake Island in the Black Sea on Tuesday, a feat that marked a major victory for Ukrainian forces in the Black Sea region, consolidating control over the Black Sea surface and airspace. The shooting down of a Russian Su-24 jet bomber over the Black Sea this time had an extremely important impact on the trend of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Early *** and early then, "The remaining ships of the Black Sea Fleet were transferred to Feodosia, and Moscow was completely defeated?As a result of several systematic Ukrainian attacks on military infrastructure, logistics centers, command centers and ships of the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, the Russian military was forced to transfer several Black Sea Fleet ships from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea to the port of Novorossiysk in the Kra**dar Territory, as well as several more to the port of Feodosia.
This means that Russia has completely lost control of the Black Sea for 240 years, and the Black Sea is no longer free for Russians to roam freely on the surface and in the air!However, not only supporters of Russia do not believe it, but even the Russian army itself does not believe it. The Russian army thinks that the Ukrainian Air Force is not equipped with F16, and even without the Black Sea Fleet, with the current air power far ahead of Ukraine, Russia can still fly freely over the Black Sea. Therefore, they sent one of Russia's best Su-24M bombers, escorted by another Su-30SM multirole fighter, to try to fly over the Black Sea to the Odessa region to bomb Ukrainian military targets. However, the Russian army seriously misjudged the sharp change in the balance of power between the two sides.
According to the message published on Tuesday on the Telegram channel by the commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, Lieutenant General Mykolaoleshchuk, and comments posted on Wednesday after checking the news by some leading Russian military bloggers, the Ukrainian army successfully shot down a Russian Su-24M bomber over Snake Island, frightening the escorting Su-30SM multirole fighter to turn around and fly back to Russia. In a statement posted on the Telegram channel, Lieutenant General Oleshchuk said that the Southern Command of Ukraine fired an anti-aircraft missile at the Su-24M, and the missile hit the target with great precision. Vice Admiral Oleshchuk also ridiculed the Su-24M jet bomber in his statement, turning the flagship cruiser Moskva into an "aircraft carrier Moskva". The achievements of the Ukrainian army in the strategic region of the Black Sea and the strength of the response to the Russian military operation are in the spotlight.
In April 2022, Ukrainian forces successfully sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet, and successfully added Su-24M jet bombers, both of which slept on the bottom of the Black Sea. A spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force revealed to ** on Tuesday night that they successfully shot down a Su-24M bomber that Russia invaded Ukraine's airspace, which was shot down near Snake Island by a missile fired by a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile unit. Subsequently, the Russian An-26 search and rescue aircraft tried to find the crew of the Su-24M, but to no avail. Speaking to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Zelensky congratulated the air defense forces and stressed that Ukraine is strengthening its defenses in the Odessa region, and with the help of European and American allies, Ukraine is confident in preserving its territorial integrity. The Ukrainian army has accumulated remarkable combat exploits in the Black Sea region, firmly controlling the surface and airspace of the Black Sea.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war on February 24, 2022, Kremlin forces targeted and took control of Snake Island, also known as Zmini, in the first hours of the invasion. Snake Island is located on a Black Sea outpost, about 30 miles from Ukraine near the Romanian coastline. However, at the end of June last year, Ukraine managed to recapture this Black Sea outpost. The Joint Center for the Coordination of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine released a message saying that the Ukrainian flag has been reraised on Snake Island, and the area has returned to Ukrainian control. The head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Lieutenant General Kirillo Budanov, also noted that the outpost is of strategic importance for civilian, ** and military targets. Ukraine's successful recapture of Snake Island further strengthened its strategic position in the Black Sea region. Shortly before Ukraine regained Snake Island, Ukrainian forces also managed to recapture several offshore drilling platforms near Crimea with Snake Island.
Russia regularly launches airstrikes against Ukraine through the Black Sea, attacking coastal ports of civilian and grain export infrastructure in Odessa, especially before the Black Sea Fleet withdraws from the Black Sea sea. However, Tuesday's successful shooting down of a Su-24 supersonic bomber marked the first time that Ukrainian forces had successfully shot down a Russian bomber over the Black Sea, and it was also a significant event that occurred after the withdrawal of the Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine's powerful air defense system has already managed to shoot down Russian aircraft several times, and this shot down is just one example. Ukraine** Zelensky congratulated the air defense forces on their performance and stressed that Ukraine is strengthening its defenses in the Odessa region with the support of its European and American allies, and therefore has confidence in maintaining territorial integrity. Ukrainian air defense forces managed to shoot down a Su-24 supersonic bomber in March of this year, which was destroyed during a bombing mission in the **Mut region.
Another Russian Su-24 jet bomber was in a Volgograd training Xi in September this year, and according to the Russian investigative report, the plane was interfered with by Ukraine before takeoff. According to Ukrainian military data, 324 Russian planes, 324 Russian*** and 6,083 Russian drones have been successfully shot down in the 21-month-long full-scale war. The Su-24 bomber, as NATO usually calls it "fencer" in military reports, is manufactured by the Moscow-based Sukhoi Design Bureau JSC. The shooting down of the Su-24 jet bomber over the Black Sea has an important impact on the situation of the Russian-Ukrainian war. Some people have recently argued that Ukraine's big ** effect is not as good as expected, in fact, this is because they do not have a clear understanding of the core goal of the Ukrainian military operation, that is, not in the three eastern regions of Ukraine, but in the Crimean peninsula, which was occupied by Russia in 2014, which Moscow and its supporters consider impossible.
The Crimean peninsula is located on the Black Sea and is connected to the Russian mainland by the Chiker Bridge. Originally, the Black Sea Fleet has been stationed in Crimea for 240 years, and after the Russian occupation in 2014, it built dense air defense facilities in Crimea and arranged a strong military defense line of land, sea and air. Therefore, when Zelensky offered to recover Crimea, many considered him whimsical. But in reality, the results of Ukraine's counterattacks in the Black Sea region since May 2022 show that the downed Su-24M bomber shot down on Tuesday is just the latest example of Ukraine's recent significant progress in the region. After the Russian-Ukrainian war, the biggest result of the Ukrainian army should be the successful sinking of more than half of the main warships of the Black Sea Fleet, the destruction of the home port and headquarters office building of the Black Sea Fleet, as well as a number of officers of the Black Sea Fleet.
By the end of September of this year, Ukraine had completely driven the Black Sea Fleet out of the Black Sea, and the rest of the ships, including all submarines (Caliber missile carriers), had been transferred from Sevastopol in the Crimea to Novorossiysk. At the same time, the Ukrainian army inflicted a number of strikes on the air defense system of Crimea, using drones and British-aided Storm Shadow ** missiles. At the moment, the air defense of the Crimea has become extremely weak. The Ukrainian army recently carried out three consecutive strikes on the Chike Bridge, using unmanned ships and missiles, as a result of which the bridge suffered considerable damage. Ukraine's operation can be described as a surgical operation aimed at completely expelling Russian military power, which is their core goal in Crimea. Ukraine has achieved great success in this regard, achieving goals that were previously considered impossible. At the moment, this must be acknowledged.
Russia's annexation of the three eastern regions of Ukraine is clear: their intention is to connect Ukraine's territory along the Black Sea with Crimea, thereby controlling the Black Sea, making it an inland sea for Russia and turning Ukraine into a landlocked country with limited development. The Crimean peninsula is a key part of their plan, because if they lose control of Crimea, the strategic value of the three eastern regions to Russia will also be lost.