Almost two days after the powerful explosions in occupied Sevastopol, the aggressor’s propaganda is trying to formulate a “painless” interpretation of the new reality for the aggressor’s key naval base, and it turns out predictably unconvincing. In particular, it is alleged that the “Sevastopol Marine Plant” allegedly “preserved the dry docks” and they allegedly “did not receive significant damage” and “withstood the bathoports,” that is, “floating hydraulic valves used to lock the entrance to the dock”.
The water really hasn’t flooded the docks yet, but this at least does not mean that these complex structures are serviceable, and only time will tell to what extent they can now release and allow ships into the structures for repairs. On April 13, the occupiers reported that “two people died” and stated “the total number of victims was up to 26 people”, but then the “plant” stated that its employees were allegedly not injured; then, obviously, the “cargo 200” were military personnel from the crews or security of the facility. In addition, social networks write about the aggressor’s soldiers killed by “friendly fire” in panic and confusion. The aggressor’s ministry of defense stated that supposedly “two damaged ships will be repaired”, but this is difficult to correlate with the visually recorded damage to the landing ship “Minsk” and the submarine “Rostov-on-Don”. However, on social networks it is said that perhaps two more ships of the aggressor’s Black Sea Fleet received some damage, and then the aggressor’s military probably decided to “play with numbers”.
As “excuses” for the occupiers, they cite the criminal Mikhail Razvozhaev who allegedly “wasn’t heard in time” regarding “strengthening air defense” and that in order to “intercept in the air there must always be forces on duty” of the “MiG-35S and MiG-31” fighters, which the occupiers “turned out to be somewhere not there”. However, experts perceive such “explanations” sarcastically; for example, Konstantin Mashovets directly stated that “at the moment, few people understand in the full sense the significance of what happened in Sevastopol” and that “in fact, this is a new stage in the war”.
This Ukrainian specialist recalls that “the Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol … is (or is considered to be) the most protected point” for aggressor. The events of September 14 near occupied Yevpatoria also clearly showed that the “zonal air defense system of Crimea” from the aggressor is unable to protect itself at its base.
