Russia Pilots Face 'Heightened Possibility' of Mistakes Amid Crimea Woes—UK

Further Ukrainian strikes on Moscow's facilities in Crimea that coordinate its forces' aircraft could cause already-fatigued Russian pilots to make mistakes, the British Defense Ministry has said.

On January 31, Ukraine's Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said that Kyiv had hit the Belbek air base on the southwestern tip of the Crimea Peninsula near Russia's main naval base at Sevastopol.

The attack reportedly destroyed a radar control coordination facility bunker, although the Russian Defense Ministry said its air defenses had thwarted the attack and shot down 20 Ukrainian missiles. This has not been verified.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment on the British assessment, which typically emphasizes Ukrainian advantages.

British defense officials said on Saturday that the incident was likely to degrade Moscow's ability to coordinate air activity in the Black Sea region. It would also put more reliance on the already-stretched fleet of Beriev A-50 Mainstay planes, the Soviet-era airborne early-warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.

The British Ministry of Defense (MOD) added the incident would also strain the "increasingly depleted pool of trained personnel available to direct air operations."

Russian air doctrine relies a lot on ground-control stations like the one at Belbek to coordinate its jets, particularly fighters. They are particularly crucial in the combat operations at the moment when the air space is contested and complex, the British MOD said.

This contributed to a tougher scenario for Russian pilots and ground personnel who are "now suffering from combat fatigue" in the war. "Any further strikes on critical coordination nodes in Crimea will almost certainly increase these pressures, creating a heightened possibility of mistake or miscalculation."

Retaking Crimea is a stated war aim for Kyiv, and there has been a spike in Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets in the occupied peninsula.

Kyiv said on February 1 that its military intelligence agency had destroyed a Russian missile-armed corvette, the Ivanovets, estimated to be worth $70 million, following strikes from seaborne drones in an overnight raid in the Black Sea.

Another big strike on Crimea took place on January 4, after Kyiv said separate attacks hit a Russian military command post near Sevastopol and a military unit near the city of Yevpatoria.

The Ukrainian Military Center said that the strike "eliminated" Colonel Vadim Nailyovich Ismagilov, commander of the 3rd Signals Intelligence Regiment of Russia's Aerospace Forces. His regiment is described as the "eyes" of the peninsula's air-defense division.

The attacks followed a bombardment of Russian drones and missiles across Ukraine during the New Year period.

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