After Russia forcefully annexed the Crimea region in 2014, Moscow has been transferring military units there like mad, rapidly building forces and capabilities in order to deter any NATO attack.
“The Black Sea Fleet (based out of Sevastopol) received six submarines, two frigates (the Admiral Gorshkovand Admiral Essen, which took part in Russian military operations in Syria) equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, and three divisions of costal missile complexes Bal and Bastion. Gerasimov claimed these deployments are part of a strategy aimed at upgrading the military capabilities of the Southern Military District, which subsumes occupied Crimea,” said the Jamestown Foundation’s Eurasia Daily Monitor, Vol. 14, Issue 147.
Sergey Ermakov, an analyst with the Moscow-based Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, says that Moscow’s primary strategic goal around the Black Sea is building up the military potential of the Black Sea Fleet (BSF), “which is the key factor precluding NATO and the United States from more decisive actions in the region.”
The anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy that also includes electronic warfare assets and ground forces isn’t meant to wholly be defensive in nature.
“Russia’s A2/AD strategy—including in Crimea—combines information/cyber security (including Electronic Warfare), strategic air operations, an integrated air-defense system as well as naval superiority, with submarines playing a key role (this last element is not universally recognized by the expert community),” the EDM noted.
Information in this article helps satisfy Priority Intelligence Requirement 2: What is the current situation report and risk of war in each of the four flashpoints?
For the month of November, save 25% on your annual subscription to our threat intelligence newsletters with coupon code NOV25. Click here to subscribe.
