Syrsky familiarizes himself with situation in Black Sea operational zone
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) Oleksandr Syrsky visited Odesa and familiarized himself with the situation in the Black Sea operational zone, in particular regarding the security of sea routes and ports.
"The Black Sea operational zone is one of the components of the theater of hostilities where Ukraine’s Defense Forces dictate their terms to the Russian invaders, disrupt the enemy’s aggressive plans and conduct their own active operations. The presence of the Russian fleet in the Black and Azov seas has been practically neutralized," Syrsky said on Telegram on Saturday.
He said that together with Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Andriy Hnatov, he visited units of the Navy’s strike forces – Neptune coastal anti-ship missile systems – as well as units defending ports and maritime communications, including ship and boat units, air defense and anti-boat defense units.
"On site, I held a meeting on issues of Ukraine’s defense from the sea. I familiarized myself with the results and further steps in the development of surface forces, maritime uncrewed systems and unmanned aerial systems. The role of unmanned and uncrewed systems is becoming decisive in all domains, including at sea. Therefore, our task is to scale up production, quickly implement new solutions and act proactively," Syrsky said.
According to him, the combat capabilities of ship and boat units will also be strengthened to counter enemy maritime and aerial drones.
"Another important area is the creation of an Integrated Maritime Awareness System by combining all sensors of Ukrainian ministries and agencies operating at sea. Certain decisions are already being implemented at the tactical, operational and strategic levels," the commander-in-chief said.
