What important targets did ATACMS missiles hit during the week in Crimea

What important targets did ATACMS missiles hit during the week in Crimea

The Russian army has felt the power of American ATACMS missiles. The Ukrainian Defence Forces have carried out precision strikes on ships and military installations in temporarily occupied territories since May 19.

The most large-scale example is the explosions in different regions of Crimea on the night of May 24. The Russian Ministry of Defence confirmed the attack with ATACMS missiles, but said that air defense systems on duty allegedly destroyed three shells.

Eyewitnesses heard at least six explosions in the area of Simferopol and about eight explosions in the area of the Belbek airfield and Novofedorivka. At least five powerful explosions were heard in Alushta. Late in the evening of 23 May, explosions were heard in Simferopol, Saki, Alushta, Yalta, Dzhankoy and Yevpatoriya.

On the night of May 24, explosions were heard in different areas of Crimea

One of the targets of the rockets was the communication center between Alushta and Satera - an important point of deep space communication with Russian spacecraft on the Moon, Venus and Mars.

A miracle of ballistics: ATACMS sends Russian Navy ships to the bottom

Successful operations were also carried out against Russian ships in the Black Sea. On the night of May 19, the Project 266-M minesweeper of the Russian Black Sea Fleet "Kovrovets" was destroyed. The successful hit of a pair of ATACMS missiles on the ship indicates that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have received more accurate versions of ATACMS missiles from the United States, Forbes magazine wrote.

The sea minesweeper "Kovrovets" was attacked by ATACMS missiles on May 19

Photo: From open sources

It is noteworthy that ground-based ATACMS missile launchers are usually used not against naval fleets, but for attacks on land. Probably, Ukraine received modifications of the M48 with a range of up to 270 kilometers or the M57 ATACMS with 200 kilogram warheads flying 300 kilometers, Western observers conclude.

"The M48 and M57 missiles are more accurate than expected. If ATACMS destroys Russian warships in Sevastopol, it is difficult to imagine what will happen to the Black Sea Fleet," said Phillips O’Brien, a professor of strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland.

American shells are also dangerous for the Kerch Bridge: the long-range S-400 air defense system protecting Sevastopol and the nearby Belbek airbase was unable to intercept them.

Another striking example is the defeat of the Russian Cyclone missile ship in Sevastopol. UK military intelligence highlights the successful combination of attack drones and ATACMS missiles in this case.

The Cyclone is one of four Russian Karakurt-class ships equipped with Caliber missiles. The ship has been in the Black Sea since 2022, but the Russians could send two ships to the Caspian Sea after a series of successful Ukrainian attacks. Another ship was heavily damaged after an attack in November 2023. Thus, the Russian Navy was left without Cyclones in the Black Sea, intelligence officers indicate.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine demonstrated that ballistics works not only on land, but also at sea, which is a unique military achievement. In March 2022, a Tochka-U missile destroyed the large landing ship Saratov in the port of Berdyansk, recalls Pavel Lakiychuk, head of security programs at the Center for Global Studies Strategy XXI, in a dialogue with Focus.

“ATACMS in Crimea underwent a “baptism of the sea,” but in general, for ballistics in the hands of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this is the second successful episode. Surely the American engineers and military personnel themselves did not know what their weapons were capable of,” the expert comments.

“They are hitting the sacred”: a challenge to Putin personally

The US transferred ATACMS missiles with a shorter range, but with a cluster warhead. These ammunition are effective for area targets: airfields and helipads. ATACMS cluster shells showed themselves in the area of the village of Mospino, Donetsk region on May 22. The attack was carried out on the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense system: two launchers, the 96L6E radar and the control center were destroyed.

After a strike on the S-400 "Triumph" complex, the launchers, radar and control center were destroyed

American ammunition has certainly opened up new opportunities for striking Russian targets deep in the rear. Unfortunately, Western partners have not yet allowed the Ukrainian Armed Forces to operate on Russian territory, Lakiychuk notes.

“The most effective defeat occurs in the first period, when the enemy has not found a way to defend himself. This was the case with HIMARS launchers, Storm Shadow missiles and glide bombs,” he explains.

The high frequency of strikes on the Crimean Peninsula has two main goals:

• practical on disabling the air defense system with an eye on the Crimean Bridge,
• psychological: for Russian President Vladimir Putin, the captured peninsula is a sacred place.

“They are hitting the sacred, which is why the West and Ukraine are now betting on Crimea,” says reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and military expert Petro Chernik.

Strikes on Crimea are a challenge to Putin personally and the ruling elites controlled by him, who see “the leader’s inability to protect the peninsula.” At the same time, one must understand that Crimea is superior to Moscow in terms of air defense systems saturation, the expert is sure.

In addition to the direct destruction of ships and expensive launchers, the strikes practically devalue the achievements of the Russian military-industrial complex. The question arises: are the S-400, S300, Tor-M, Buk and Pantsir-S1 complexes really competitive weapons? According to Chernik, the volume of their export sales after the missiles arrive will decrease significantly.

Sea Baby sea drones equipped with MLRS will also cause colossal damage within the coastal part of Crimea. It is extremely difficult to spot an unmanned boat at sea, especially at night.

However, naval combat is only part of the overall military strategy. The outcome of a full-scale war with the Russian Federation will be decided on land, the analyst concludes.