“Horns and legs will remain”
On the morning of June 20, the Ukrainian army attacked the Russian drilling rigs of Chernomorneftegaz in the western part of the Black Sea. In this case, combat aircraft, patrol boats and, possibly, coastal missile systems were used. The action was held immediately after President Zelensky in his video message promised an answer for the rocket attack on the Kremenchug oil refinery. Kyiv raises the stakes in the confrontation. Experts believe that nothing good awaits the Kyiv authorities on this path.
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
On Saturday, Russian troops attacked oil refineries in Kremenchug, Shchebelino and Gubenikha. These enterprises supply fuel to the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) fighting in the Donbas. The goal is to put the Donbass grouping of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on a fuel starvation ration and thereby force them to stop resistance.
The blow was painful for the APU. This was acknowledged in another video message by President Zelensky and promised an answer. And on the morning of June 20, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked drilling rigs on the platforms of Chornomorneftegaz. The BK-1 platform was hit harder than others. Two employees have severe burns, one has a severe shrapnel wound. The fate of seven people is unknown. This was announced by the Senator from the Crimea Olga Kovitidi.
Only civilian personnel were on the platforms.
It is clear that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be held accountable for a strike on a civilian facility. Actually, already in the afternoon of June 20, a “response” flew in at military facilities in Odessa – several high-precision missiles hit the assigned targets.
In particular, a blow was struck at the Shkolny airfield near Odessa, from where, probably, planes bombed oil rigs took off. In addition, strikes were made on military facilities in Kharkov. But, most likely, this is only the beginning, and Kyiv, which started this competition, may not like the continuation.
Opposition Ukrainian politician Oleg Tsarev in his Telegram channel quoted a comment from Ukrainian social networks: “The main thing is that the Russians do not start firing missiles at our energy resource facilities and substations in response. Then the whole country runs the risk of being left without electricity.”
Tsarev commented on this proposal as follows: “I'm not hinting at anything. But I can't explain why our military doesn't turn off the power in Ukraine.”
According to the politician, attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities and substations will have a devastating effect on the economy. Ukraine risks being left without electricity. Russia has so far refrained from hitting these targets, Tsarev noted.
It is worth remembering that during the war against Yugoslavia in 1999, the United States and NATO destroyed energy infrastructure facilities in the first place. Hundreds of electrical facilities were destroyed, including transformer substations. For this, aviation bombs with graphite filling were used. As a result, a short circuit occurred and all power equipment burned down. Belgrade and all other Serbian cities were left without electricity. Electric trains stopped.
Military expert Mikhail Khodarenok also predicted Russia's possible response to attacks on civilian targets, including the Crimean bridge. “The most mysterious thing for me is Ukraine’s reasoning that nothing will happen to them even for attempting such a strike. I’m afraid to make a mistake in my assessments, but the answer for the Crimean bridge runs the risk of being such that Kyiv will leave horns and legs,” he wrote in the Telegram channel.
According to the expert, “in a strategic sense, a strike on the Crimean The bridge won't solve anything.” “Except for the fact that Ukraine exists on the world map,” Khodarenok summed up.