Earlier today, the Headquarters of the Black Sea Flotilla (which the Russians for some reason refer to as “Fleet”) in Sevastopol was attacked by an unmanned aerial vehicle.
The flotilla’s press service said the drone carried a low-power explosive device.
Of course, Russia immediately blamed Ukraine, even before launching an inquiry. Although, had they started one, they would have probably gotten bogged down in a number of questions that are difficult to answer unambiguously.
For example, how did this UAV make it from the Ukrainian-controlled area all the way down to the temporarily occupied Crimea? Does this mean the thing flew 200 km unspotted? Because that’s how far away from Sevastopol the free part of mainland Ukraine is.
Again, do the Russians want everyone to believe a wild theory that a custom-made UAV flew 200 km over the occupied territories, filled with air defense systems, without losing contact with the operator and eventually hitting a flotilla HQ?
Or perhaps the drone was launched in Sevastopol? Does this mean Ukraine’s guerilla forces operate in the occupied Crimea, putting up resistance to the invaders? Could this be possible at all given the fact that over the past eight years, the invaders have done everything to cement full control over the local population instead of at least trying to make their lives a bit better?
It’s clear that this looks like some kind of science fiction plot. If not, though, FSB operatives deployed in Crimea should be urgently executed for allowing such a brazen attack to take place (because that’s what Russians do, right?)
On the other hand, if we suggest that strike was a staged stunt on the part of the invaders, it becomes obvious that it actually helps the occupiers solve a whole range of tasks, the main of which is cancelling festivities on Russian Navy Day. After all, the Russian occupiers needed to present the most convincing reason to make such a move.
And it’s not even that the celebrations held without the Russian flagship, the Moskva missile cruiser, hit and sunk by Ukrainian missiles a few months ago, would be a dark reminder of the 300 sailors (half of them conscripts) killed on that warship, and that the fleet has been ranked down to a flotilla.
It’s that, like all paranoids, the Russian command assesses the situation based on their worldview and how they would act in similar circumstances. So they regarded as an excessive risk holding such an event, in Sevastopol, within the strike zone of Ukrainian anti-ship missiles…
At the same time, admitting that the event is canceled due to their fears of Ukrainian missiles would be too embarrassing for Russia. After all, this reasoning would once again prove that the Russian air defense, of which Moscow has boasted for years, is in fact helpless against the anti-ship missiles available to Ukraine. Therefore, another “explanation” was needed, so here we are.
In addition, the stunt allows Russia to once again spin the flywheel of the “Ukrainian threats” and “Zelensky’s Nazi regime,” as well as further tighten the grip over Crimea and its population.
So, apparently, hiding their real fear and helplessness behind a cheap staged act is the current level of the Russian navy.