Ukraine has asked to take control of two Royal Navy warships, saying it would defeat Putin faster if it were allowed to fire British missiles at Russia.
The head of the Ukrainian Navy, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, suggested that his sailors could take over the two warships from the Royal Navy, at the risk of early retirement due to staff shortages within the British military branch.
He added that it was a “war of technologies” that would be won by the country with the most technologically advanced weapons, which could be supplied to Ukraine by Western countries.
“We must have the capabilities to ensure that Russia will forever give up the thought of even looking towards Ukraine, including at sea,” he said. SkyNews.
In and around Russian-occupied Crimea, Ukraine has achieved significant military success against Vladimir Putin’s much larger fleet in the Black Sea, destroying ships, a submarine and infrastructure.
The head of the Ukrainian Navy, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa (pictured), suggested that his sailors could take over two warships from the Royal Navy, which are at risk of early retirement due to a shortage of personnel within the British military departments.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps meets Norwegian Defense Minister Bjorn Arild Gram and Ukrainian Navy Commander Oleksiy Neizhpapa (third from right)
HMS Westminster (front image) is reportedly being retired so its sailors can be transferred to a new ship – despite only recently returning to service
According to reports, HMS Argyll (right) is also being demolished. It is the Navy’s longest serving Type 23 frigate
But Vice Admiral Neizhpapa said the course of the war between Russia and Ukraine would have been different if his country had been able to use Western long-range missiles from the start instead of only since last year.
The Ukrainian military has since used the Western weapons to fire on targets in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, but has not used them to hit targets in Russia for fear it could escalate the conflict.
The naval commander said that if Ukraine is finally allowed to fire Western munitions at infrastructure deep within Russia, victory could be close.
As part of their military successes, Ukraine sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet flagship Moskva on April 14, 2022, which “achieved a military objective, but also a political objective,” Vice Admiral Neizhpapa said.
He said this successful military attack convinced his country that “Moscow could be defeated.”
Another significant attack on Russia took place on September 22, 2023, when British and French missiles were fired from a Ukrainian bomber plane and hit the Russian Navy headquarters in Crimea.
According to Moscow, the building then caught fire after being hit by a missile.
“Our successes in 2022 and 2023 were the result of difficult but innovative decisions, which did not exist before,” Vice Admiral Neizhpapa said.
Ukraine is said to have sunk more than twenty Russian naval ships, forcing Putin to withdraw his fleet from Crimea to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk.
Vice Admiral Neizhpapa said Putin was behaving “like a small-scale gangster” who would not start a fight if he was matched “blow for blow.”
This comes as top NATO officials warned that Putin could attack targets across Europe in an all-out war against the West.
A powerful explosion shook the port of Feodosia in Crimea on Boxing Day as Ukraine claimed its missile attack had destroyed a large Russian naval ship, the Novocherkassk.
Another significant attack on Russia took place on September 22, 2023, when British and French missiles were fired from a Ukrainian bomber plane and hit the Russian Navy headquarters in Crimea (photo: a missile attack on September 13, 2023)
A Ukrainian soldier prepares a mortar before shooting a target in Bakhmut’s direction
Ukrainian soldiers stand in front of a building destroyed by a Russian missile attack as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues in Donetsk Oblast
A Ukrainian tank man is seen next to his tank on the road in the Donetsk region on January 27, 2024
Russian President Vladimir Putin grimaces during a communications session with the Vostok Station, a Russian research station in Antarctica
Leaders told the Times that the bloc may have only three years to prepare for a possible Russian offensive on European soil, which would involve attacks on civilian and military infrastructure deep behind the front lines to hamper the war effort.
They said Germany would likely be chosen as the central “hub” for NATO’s continental supply lines and that targets could range from munitions factories and command centers to power plants, railways and bridges.
Russia has already used similar tactics during its invasion of Ukraine, launching missiles deep into Ukrainian territory, while Ukraine itself has retaliated by taking out ammunition depots, fuel depots and command centers.
Lieutenant General Alexander Sollfrank, commander of NATO’s military logistics center in south-west Germany, said: “If we compare wars and operations from ten years ago or five years ago, we realize that we have to accept that the rear areas are also heavily will be disputed.
‘We must assume that an aggressor will use the full spectrum of kinetic and non-kinetic force to destroy lines of communication, including in the rear area.
‘This ranges from acts of sabotage via electronic warfare and cyber to kinetic capabilities via missiles, drones and so on.’
The NATO general urged world leaders to cut “red tape” that hinders countries’ ability to use another country’s weapons and technology.
Sollfrank said rules on who can use what equipment, known as “interchangeability,” have greatly slowed response times.
He said reducing the bureaucracy seemingly inherent in multinational organizations would be crucial to ensuring NATO is agile enough to counter Russia.