https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCjWNDOfPc
Hi,
This is Hot Mic and I am Nidhi Razdan.
It has been more than 50 days since Russia invaded Ukraine. Vladimir Putin believes that he will make Kyiv surrender within 5 days. Things clearly didn’t go as he expected. Russia has suffered a series of military setbacks in recent weeks. The biggest incident was the sinking of the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, last week, which is currently on the seabed. A 600-foot, 12,500-ton ship is not small. Ukraine says it destroyed the ship with its advanced Neptune missile. However, Russia claimed that the ship was damaged due to a fire on board, related to ammunition stored in the hull. Either way, the sinking of the Moscow ship was an important event. Armed with surface-to-air missiles, the ship provides long-range air defense and maneuverability for Russia’s entire fleet in the Black Sea.
This force includes Russian cruisers, frigates, missile corvettes and amphibious ships capable of carrying thousands of troops. This entire fleet is now more vulnerable to attack without the protection and firepower of the Moskva. About 500 Russian sailors were on board the Moskva and most are believed to have been safely evacuated by the Russians. Neither Russia nor the US would comment on the number of possible casualties on board, or if any. If indeed the Ukrainians attacked the ship with their missiles, that would be a major blow to Russia. At least symbolically, if nothing else.
The sinking was an embarrassment to the mighty Russians, especially at a time when morale in their troops was already low, and Ukraine scored a major propaganda point. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry claims that it has killed about 20,000 Russian soldiers and officers of the Russian army. A statement that has not been independently verified. The Kremlin spokesman acknowledged that Russia had suffered what he called “significant military losses” in Ukraine, but did not provide a specific number of casualties. The sinking of the mighty Moscow ship also broke the myth of the invincibility of the Russian army. At the same time, it lifted the spirits of the Ukrainians who were fighting in the battle between David and Goliath. However, experts are still divided on whether this will make much of a military impact. To date, the Russian Navy has not been actually used in the war, although there has been speculation that Moscow will be used in an attack on the Odessa region of Ukraine. On the other hand, Russia mainly uses aircraft and land systems to attack.
The Pentagon said that Moscow’s naval component of the war was largely limited to two efforts – efforts to replenish and resupply troops in the South and several cruise missile strikes on Ukraine. . But domination of the Black Sea is really important to Russia and this is the key. It is a springboard, the Black Sea, i.e. the Mediterranean for Russia. This is also a strategic buffer zone between NATO and Russia. Since 2014, Russia has aimed to gain full control of the Black Sea since it annexed Crimea. That is why they have pushed to capture the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol in the breakaway eastern Donetsk Oblast. Mariupol is in danger of falling to Russia. And that would be a significant turning point for the Russians. Military experts say that capturing Mariupol will help Russia control more than 80% of Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline and cut off the country’s maritime trade. And if the Odessa region also collapses, then Ukraine will lose access to the entire Black Sea coast and will be turned into a landlocked country. That would devastate its economy.
The loss of the Moskva ship could also prompt the Russians to actually increase attacks on Ukraine as has been witnessed in recent days. It is clear, however, that Russia has been shrinking and shifting domestic milestones. When they first invaded Ukraine in February, it was done from three separate directions – north, east and south. But as the war progressed, Putin realized he needed to cut his losses, and his top officials have since said the aim was to focus on liberating the eastern Donbass region, where the army Russian-backed militias have fought Ukrainian troops in the past. eight years or more. However, the West also fears a reckless Putin could use nuclear weapons. The CIA director recently said that “none of us can downplay the threat posed by a potential site for the use of tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons.” Tactical and low-yield nuclear weapons are those designed for use on the battlefield, with some experts estimating that Russia has around 2,000 weapons that could be delivered to the air forces. , navy and ground. Ukraine has been supported by the West as far as its military is concerned.
The US also announced another $800 million in military aid just last week. But President Zelensky says he needs more to stop an aggressive Russian offensive in the east. CNN reports that the latest aid includes 18 155mm Howitzer cannons and 40,000 rounds of artillery shells, but there are fears that will all be over in the next few days as fierce fighting intensifies in the Donbass area. Russia also warned the Foreign Ministry that there would be “unforeseen consequences” if the United States and its allies continued to send the heavier weapons that Ukraine had sought. It is for this reason that the United States must assess how far it can go in supporting Ukraine militarily without allowing the conflict to escalate and become larger.
