Defense Minister Reznikov claimed that Danish-supplied Harpoon missiles would help Kiev retake vital waters.
Ukrainian defense minister Alexey Reznikov declared on Saturday that Kiev will still win its war with Russia. Like other Ukrainian officials, Reznikov has placed his hopes in foreign-supplied weapons, particularly Harpoon anti-ship missiles provided by Denmark.
In a lengthy Facebook post on Saturday, Reznikov thanked several countries for replenishing Ukraine's stocks of 155 mm artillery shells, and praised the United States for a recent shipment of M 777 155 mm howitzers and more than 100 drones of various types.
He said that he would like to inform that the coastal defence of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles but will be used by trained Ukrainian teams. After a virtual meeting of American allies on Monday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced that Denmark would send an unspecified number of missiles to Ukraine.
Boeing s A U RGM 84 Harpoon is the standard anti-ship missile used by the US Navy, with an estimated range of about 300 km. It has active radar guidance and skims the surface until it reaches its target, at which point it can execute a pop-up maneuver and strike from above. Harpoons can be launched from either a surface vessel or an attack aircraft, but launchers can be removed from ships for use onshore.
I am confident that the military brotherhood of Harpoons and our Neptunes will help us liberate and make our Black Sea safe again, as well as protect Odessa, as well as make our Black Sea safe again, according to Reznikov. Neptunes refer to a Ukrainian-manufactured cruise missile that Kiev claims it used to strike a Russian warship in April. Moscow hasn't confirmed these claims.
Reznikov is not the first Ukrainian official to make bold statements about retaking the Black Sea, which has been mostly under the control of the Russian Navy since early in the conflict. After the Danish Harpoon delivery was announced on Monday, Ukrainian Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko tweeted that the US was preparing a plan to destroy the Black Sea Fleet, a statement that the Pentagon denied immediately.
An earlier Ukrainian attempt to retake the Black Sea outpost of Snake Island resulted in failure. Russia said that the attack on the island, which took place earlier this month, cost Ukraine 30 drones, 14 aircraft and three ships.
Kiev accused Russia of blocking the vital port city of Odessa, preventing food shipments from entering and leaving Ukraine. Moscow said that the logistical problems stem from Ukraine having mined the Black Sea, although the Russian Defense MinistryDefense Ministry said on Wednesday it had cleared a stretch of the Azov Sea of mines and opened the lane to civilian vessels. Another three-mile wide naval corridor in the Black Sea has been maintained by the Russian Navy for some time and remains open for traffic.