Khrapchynskyi said Ukraine has begun to treat Crimea as “easy prey” for unmanned attacks. He said Kyiv is using naval drones that can carry FPV [first-person view] attack drones capable of knocking out coastal air defenses and other systems.
“Crimea has become shootable for us; the Russians understand that, although they keep trying to send more electronic warfare and air defense systems there,” he said.
The expert noted that recent Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea show that Russia is losing the ability to protect its facilities on the peninsula with air defenses. He pointed to strikes on important targets, including the Belbek airfield, a military facility whose runway can accommodate strategic aircraft, and said numerous MiG-31s have been destroyed there.
He summed up: “Crimea has become easy to shoot at, and
Ukraine has achieved parity in the airspace there — for now through unmanned
systems rather than manned aircraft.”