The Significance of Ukrainian Attacks On Distant Russian Supply Hubs

With Sevastopol in Crimea now problematic due to Ukrainian attacks, the Russian military relied increasingly on Berdyansk, which is further from the front lines and ostensibly beyond the range of Ukrainian missiles. 

That was until a few weeks ago when the UK gave Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles which have a range of 155 miles. Now one of the key ports supporting Russian troops is under attack, causing ships docked there to leave and others to be rerouted even further from the front. JL 

Howard Altman reports in The Drive:

Located 60 miles from the front lines, Berdyansk is the latest example of long-distance targets Ukraine can now hit. It is an important logistics and supply hub, providing materiel for Russian troops in the region. This is the fourth attack on the port city in the past few weeks. The strike was likely carried out by U.K.-provided Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles. Several Russian ships docked at the port made a hasty departure as a result of the attack. Key logistic and supply nodes far from the front lines will be attacked by Ukraine as it continues to shape the battlefield ahead of its counteroffensive.The Russian-occupied Azov Sea port city of Berdyansk in Zaporizhzhia Oblast was struck by a Ukrainian missile on Friday, an occupation official said. Located about 60 miles from the front lines, Berdyansk is the latest example of long-distance targets Ukraine can now hit thanks to donated weapons. This is at least the fourth attack on the port city in the past few weeks. In the wake of this latest attack, a Russian-installed occupation official said the strike was likely carried out by U.K.-provided Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles. "Apparently, these were Storm Shadow missiles but we are waiting for more detailed information from our Defense Ministry,” occupation official Vladimir Rogov said in a live broadcast on Komsomolskaya Pravda radio, according to the official Russian TASS news agency.

“The militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck at peaceful Berdyansk at about 12.00,” Rogov said Friday on his Telegram channel. “The hit was on the territory of the seaport. According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or damage. According to preliminary data, there were three explosions in total. Ukrainian Nazis tried to launch a rocket attack on the city.”

Rogov later updated his Telegram channel to say that there were at least nine people wounded and taken to the hospital as a result of the strike.

Contrary to what Rogov said, such a strike is likely to cause damage. While the extent is unknown at this time, the Ukrainian Berdyansk City Military Administration Telegram channel claims that several Russian ships docked at the port made a hasty departure as a result of the attack.

“According to preliminary data, ships that recently entered to steal Ukrainian grain and scrap metal are fleeing from the Berdyansk port,” that channel claimed.

Throughout the war, Ukraine has shown the ability to strike deep into Russia and Russian-held territory with aerial drones and uncrewed surface vessel drones as well as sabotage raids. There have also been several cross-border incursions of late by self-proclaimed anti-Putin partisans, which you can read more about later in this story.

But a weapon like the Storm Shadow provides far more punch than drones and is far easier and less dangerous for Ukraine to launch than a sabotage raid or cross-border incursion, for which its role is unclear at the moment. The Storm Shadow is a combat-proven advanced precision strike weapon with an officially stated range of over 155 miles in its export configuration and much farther in its standard configuration. And, as far as we know, this is the longest-range standoff weapon to be delivered to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion.

By comparison, the vaunted Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GMLRS) munitions provided by the U.S. and allies fired by M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) launchers have a range of about 50 miles.

In addition to Storm Shadows, Ukraine has its own domestically produced guided artillery rocket that has the range to strike Berdyansk.

Called the Vilkha-M, it is a modified 7.6 meter (25-foot) long Soviet BM-30 Smerch multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) artillery rocket with a range of nearly 70 miles.

For the Russians, capturing Berdyansk in the early days of this all-out conflict was a huge win. In addition to seizing about a dozen ships from Ukraine’s Navy at the time, it is also an important logistics and supply hub, providing materiel for Russian troops in the region.

This is far from the first time Berdyansk has been attacked since Russia captured it. Back in March, 2022, the Project 1171 Alligator class landing ship Orsk was destroyed in an attack initially reported to be by a Ukrainian Tochka-U short-range ballistic missile. However, it is unclear what destroyed the ship. You can read more about it in our story from the time here.

Berdyansk was also hit several times last month.

It is unknown how many Storm Shadows the U.K. provided Ukraine, which has produced only about 100 Vilkha-M rockets. 

But this is likely not the last time Berdyansk and other key logistic and supply nodes far from the front lines will be attacked by weapons now in the hands of Ukraine as it continues to shape the battlefield ahead of its looming counteroffensive.