In an effort to prevent Russian forces from reaching the coast of Odessa, Ukraine took a dangerous military step, which was the planting of hundreds of naval mines in the Black Sea, according to Maxim Klimov's report in the Russian newspaper "Vzgliad".
The writer warned that these mines may move from the sites in which they were planted to other sites, after the recent storms led to the beginning of breaks in the cables that connect them to their anchors.
The Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service was quoted as saying that the Ukrainian Navy had planted 420 minefields near the ports of "Odessa", "Uchakov", "Chernomoresk" and "Yuzhny" since the start of the military operation, stressing that the mines were made in half. The first of the twentieth century.
Because of the storms, the cables connecting them to the lower anchors were cut, and under the influence of the wind these mines might drift to the western part of the Black Sea.
The writer pointed out that the squadron of Russian ships, including large landing ships, has maintained since the beginning of the Russian military operation in Ukraine its presence off the coast of Odessa, and there are still hundreds and perhaps thousands of Russian marines on board at any moment to move towards the coast. The Ukrainian or the city of Odessa itself, which poses a danger to the Ukrainian side.
He explained that the Ukrainian forces chose to deploy naval mines off the coast to counter any possible landing of the Russians in light of the inability of the Ukrainian forces to resist their Russian counterparts, noting that the latter, on the other hand, took the threat of Ukrainian mines seriously, and the published satellite images showed that the Russian squadron is well-equipped. with minesweepers.
The writer stated that the mines laid by the Ukrainian armed forces and their possible accidental drift on the surface of the sea, by wind and air currents, poses, in all cases, a danger to civilian navigation in all countries, especially during the night, explaining this by saying that the vast majority of civilian radars, unlike radars The ship-borne specialist cannot detect a floating mine, highlighting the difficulty of noticing a floating mine even in broad daylight and in ideal viewing conditions.
He explained that although these mines contain about 3 kilograms of TNT explosives, their danger, in fact, lies in the lack of electronic batteries, and therefore the shelf life and danger of these mines are long.
Public sources were quoted as saying that the Ukrainian forces were not satisfied with laying sea mines, but rather spread what looked like rivers of mines, as they had previously used anti-ship naval mines off the coast of Mariupol. Floating boats, boats, and ferries in rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and others.
The writer attributes Ukraine’s use of mines, which are designed to destroy landing ships on its sea coast, to the poor readiness of the military forces, pointing to the age of the used mines and their corrosion due to rust, which led to the disruption of the cables connecting them to their anchors, pointing to a report issued by the Russian Federal Security Service that explained that the reason The mine drift is due to its poor technical condition, that is, the Ukrainian Navy used an old stockpile of mines dating back to the era of the Soviet Union.
It is believed that the real combat effectiveness of the mines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is very weak and will not lead to disruption of a hypothetical landing of the Russian Navy, indicating that although laying mines of this type is an ineffective military measure, it poses a great danger to civilian navigation, not only in the Black Sea, but Its influence may extend to Turkey and the Mediterranean countries.
In this regard, the writer quoted the Russian Public Relations Center, in a statement published by the Russian “TASS” agency, as saying, “Due to the fact that the dominant currents near these ports are superficial to the south, the possibility of mine drifting into the Bosporus Strait and into the Mediterranean basin is not excluded,” adding, “By following these practices The armed forces of Ukraine have once again shown their total disregard for the foundations of international law and for human life, including citizens of European Union countries."
The writer pointed out - at the end of the report - that eliminating the danger of these mines exploding requires another operation to remove them and clear the Black Sea after the end of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, noting that procedures for removing mines in large areas require a long time, and therefore the risk of their explosion will remain until when completing this process.