Pletenchuk: Ukrainian strikes can reach any location in Crimea

The damaged Russian missile ship Askold is sheltering under cover in Kerch, but Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said that offers no real security. Every part of Crimea, he said, lies within the operating range of Ukrainian strikes.

“Currently, there are no real prospects for this ship, because all of Crimea, 100% of its territory, is simply within the range of Ukrainian forces’ strikes,” Pletenchuk said, according to Ukrinform.

Asked how long Russian ships take to move from Novorossiysk to missile-launch positions, he said they no longer make that journey. For the past three months, he said, all missiles have been launched directly from permanent naval bases. He described the practice as a risky Russian effort to preserve the fleet, saying the ships were prepared to launch from port rather than go out to sea.

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Currently, there are no real prospects for this ship, because all of Crimea, 100% of its territory, is simply within the range of Ukrainian forces’ strikes.

That tactic does not mean the ports are fully protected, Pletenchuk added. Ukraine’s Navy assesses that Russian ships and missile vessels are preparing for cruise-missile strikes. He said the timing could be one, two or three days, or a week, without changing the overall picture: the missile ships remain in their permanent bases and none has gone to sea.

Pletenchuk said aviation was also operating normally. The day had been relatively quiet, he said, with no strikes on ports or infrastructure. Ukrinform had previously reported his statement that no railway ferries were operating in Crimea.

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For the past three months, all missiles have been launched directly from the permanent basing port.