BALTIC-TO-BLACK: Ukrainian Drones Punishing Russia’s Black Sea Fleet; Russian Jet in Swedish Airspace

About Europe’s Response to Russian Aggression from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.

BLACK SEA:

Ukraine Fights Back with Aerial and Maritime Drones.

Black Sea region (Source: Norman Einstein via Wikipedia)

While awaiting the arrival of promised F-16 fighter jets and sophisticated air defense systems, from neighboring NATO nations, Ukraine has taken a pounding from Russian missiles, drones and artillery over the last xx months.

However with unmanned aircraft and surface maritime drones, Ukraine has been returning the punishment to Russia’s Navy and port facilities in the Black Sea. In addition to hampering Russian naval operations, according to a June 17 report from Defense One, Ukraine’s use of aerial drones and robot boats is “rewriting the playbook for war planners concerned with maritime chokepoints.”

Ukraine was forced to adapt of an unmanned (or uncrewed) strategy after losing its naval headquarters at Sevastopol (see map above) and much its fleet when Russia illegally annexed Crimea in 2014, and most of its remaining naval force was gone soon after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.

But instead of ceding the maritime battlespace to Russia, Kyiv turned to missiles and drones — often-home-grown — to bring the fight to the waters around Crimea.

“Ukraine helped usher in a new phase of asymmetrical warfare at sea with an October 2022 attack on Russia’s primary naval base in Sevastopol,” Defense One reported. Seven unmanned surface vessels and nine aerial drones attacked the base, reportedly damaging the frigate Admiral Makarov and the minesweeper Ivan Golubets. “Neither vessel was destroyed, but the operation demonstrated how Ukraine could use the attritable systems to great effect – and at low cost,” Defense One noted.

An earlier Defense One report, citing new satellite imagery and analysis, said Ukrainian drone attacks in the Black Sea were “forcing Russian ships to bounce from port to port and the Russian Navy to build harbor defenses,” complicating Russian naval operations.

Ukraine estimates its missile and drone attacks have knocked out around a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. “Strategists around the world have taken note of the changing dynamics at play in the Black Sea and the implications for flashpoints elsewhere. It is no small feat for a small coastal military to deny naval space to a much larger foe, as Ukraine has done,” said Defense One.

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Romanian Missile System to Defend Black Sea Coast

Romania’s second Patriot air defense system is now ready for combat following its successful intercept of a target simulating a cruise missile during a live-fire exercise on the banks of the Black Sea, Defense News reported June 14.

Certifying the Patriot was a national objective of Romania’s Defence Ministry. In 2017, the U.S. State Department approved the sale of seven Patriot systems and related equipment to Romania at an estimated cost of $3.9 billion.

 

A Patriot missile launch.(U.S. Army photo)

Romania has since established a dedicated Patriot unit within its army, with Romanian operators having undergone both individual and collective training in the United States and at home.

The Patriot system is considered an important key to defending Romanian territory. A NATO member and one of the largest countries in Europe, Romania shares borders with fellow NATO members Bulgaria and Hungary, as well as Moldova, Serbia and embattled Ukraine. It also has a 245-kilometer (152-mile) coastline along the Black Sea (see map above).

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BALTIC SEA:

Sweden Says Russian Jet Violated Its Airspace.

Swedish fighter jets intercepted a Russian military aircraft after it briefly violated Sweden’s airspace on June 14 east of the Baltic island of Gotland, the Nordic country’s armed forces said, according to Reuters.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom called the airspace violation “unacceptable” and said officials from the Russian Embassy in Stockholm would be summoned to his ministry over the incident. The Russian Embassy in Sweden did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.

Saab JAS 39 Gripen at Kaivopuisto Air Show, June 2017 (Via Wikipedia)

Sweden’s armed forces said that Gripen jets were sent up to intercept the Russian plane, an SU-24, after it failed to respond to a radio warning by military air traffic controllers.

The air intrusion incident took place as Sweden – NATO’s newest member – and several of its new allies, including the United States, took part in a military and naval exercise in and around the Baltic Sea.

The Swedish military said similar violations by Russian aircraft last occurred in 2022 when two SU-27 and two SU-24 planes also violated its airspace near Gotland.

Sweden’s neighbor Finland said separately on June 14, it suspected that four Russian military planes had violated its airspace on June 10.

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Norway Sending Mortar Ammo To Ukraine

To assist Ukraine in its defense against invading Russian forces, Norway says it will donate thousands of 81mm mortar rounds from its own stockpiles.

“Ukraine’s need for firepower  is extensive and urgent,” Defence Minister Bjørn Arild Gram said in a statement  June 13. After discussing the matter with the Norwegian Armed Forces, “we have assessed what we can do further donations from the Norwegian Armed Forces’ stockpiles, which can quickly be transferred to Ukraine to help prevent a greater Russian advance,” Gram said.

A Norwegian battalion trains with 81 mm mortars. (Credit: Ole-Sverre Haugli / Forsvaret )

Troop numbers, ammunition and air defenses in Ukraine have run low as Russian forces try to cripple Kyiv’s power supply and punch through defense lines in eastern parts of the country.

Mortar rounds, which the Norwegians call bomb launcher ammunition, valued at about 480 million Norwegian kroner ($45 million U.S.) will be going to Ukraine which has run desperately short of all forms of ammunition in its two-year fight for survival against Russia’s better-armed forces.

Mortars are the lightest and most mobile of the artillery weapons, and can be both vehicle-mounted and portable. “The 81mm bomb launchers normally have a range of 5-6 kilometers and supplement the heavier artillery at shorter distances. Ukraine’s ammunition needs are extensive, and the bomb-thrower ammunition donated by Norway can be used by Ukraine in existing weapons,” the Norwegian military said.

Norway has also recently donated hand grenades and sniper ammunition to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre announced in Stockholm on May 31 that Norway will contribute 2.7 billion kroner to air defense measures for Ukraine. The German Minister of Defense has announced that Germany, Norway, Denmark and the Netherlands are participating in a joint venture to send 100 Patriot missiles to Ukraine.

NATO defense ministers approved a plan June 14 to provide reliable long-term security aid and military training for Ukraine after delays in Western deliveries of funds, arms and ammunition helped invading Russian forces to seize the initiative on the battlefield, The Associated Press reported..

Kyiv’s Western backers have mostly concentrated their efforts through the Pentagon-run Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a forum for around 50 countries to drum up the weapons and ammunition the war-ravaged country needs most.

The new plan would be a complementary effort. Speaking in Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the effort would be headquartered at a U.S. military base in Wiesbaden, Germany and involve almost 700 staff.

Countries bordering the Baltic Sea. (Map via wikipedia)

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BALTIC-2-BLACK is an occasional 4GWAR posting on the tensions between Russia and nations in the regions of the Baltic Sea and the Black Sea, where former Soviet satellite nations — now members of NATO — border Russian territory. Both NATO, and the United States in particular, have stepped up their presence and assistance in the region since Russian belligerence grew after annexing Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014, and launching an all out war against Ukraine in February 2022, which drove previously non-aligned Finland and Sweden to join NATO.