Commander of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa said that in the first days of the war, the Navy actively used anti-ship mines and armed Bayraktar UAVs to protect the sea shore of Ukraine. Speaking to the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine magazine, Neizhpapa said, "Mentally, we were all ready, preparing for this. The ships of the Naval Forces were withdrawn from their bases, and ship-tactical groups served at sea. Artillery groups were formed on the shore, cooperating with technical reconnaissance equipment to identify surface targets enemy."
Neizhpapa said that at that time, the mines were the most potent
weapon in the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - "and it was used."
It was necessary to mine the landing-accessible areas not to allow the enemy to
blow up the tactical landing.
The commander of the Navy noted that the struggle for the landing is the business of the Ground Forces, and the mission of the Naval Forces is to prevent the enemy from reaching the shore.
"To understand how to repel the enemy, you need to have situational awareness of what is happening at sea to make the right decisions. The task was to disperse the ships and carry radar patrols. At night, everyone went to sea on schedule, despite the high risk of being drowned; the vessel went out to sea - and now they go out to come forward and see where the enemy is.
In the early days of the war, the Ukrainian Navy also helped a lot with Bayraktar Armed UAVs. The Bayraktar squadron played a key role, particularly in the Kherson region and over the Black Sea.
Neizhpapa said that "everything that could fly was used to the fullest."
The commander of the Navy also noted that after 2014 the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation became the most powerful fleet of Russia.
The Russians replenished it with frigates, missile boats, and six submarines armed with Caliber missiles - this made up a strike force. The Black Sea Fleet also has a tactical grouping with more outdated missiles, reinforced with ships from other fleets.
According to Neizhpapa, the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is a compelling adversary, who believed that Ukraine did not have a navy, but even "military anger" helped the Ukrainians, so even cruise missiles and planes were shot down from boats.
