Military analysts increasingly mention asymmetric warfare when commenting on or forecasting the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. What is it? And whether Ukraine applies it? – read further in the article.
What is asymmetry?
The term means that the two opposing armies have a considerable difference in resources. Symmetric war involves more or less equal opportunities, the number of troops, and equipment, which makes their struggle a clash of similar tactics that differ only in execution.
Asymmetric war is the complete opposite of this picture and is characterized by two main features:
– the resources of the parties are almost incomparable;
– the opponents try to find and use the most significant weaknesses of the enemy.
The conflict between Russia and Ukraine is a one hundred percent example of asymmetric war.
What is needed
It was the tactics of asymmetry that helped the Armed Forces of Ukraine not only to stop the advance of the enemy in 2022 but also to return huge territories under their control. We are observing the next stage of asymmetric war right now. It concerns the Russian-Ukrainian confrontation on the Black Sea.
Before a full-scale attack, the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation was strengthened. The Russians transferred their large amphibious ships to the Black Sea, and as of February 24, 2022, 11 of them were located there. In the 2 years of the war, six were damaged.
Confrontation at sea is an example of asymmetric warfare by Ukraine. The fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lacked a fleet made the bet on the destruction of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation with a wonderful asymmetric move.
Not the final
The main destroyed objects from February 2022:
– Missile cruiser “Moscow”. It became the most expensive military loss of this war, estimated at 750 million USD. It sank on April 14, 2022.
– Large amphibious ship “Minsk”. In early February 2022, it arrived in Crimea via Syria. On September 13 of the same year, it was attacked.
– Ship “Novocherkask”. It was attacked for the first time in Berdiansk in March 2022 and finally sunk in Feodosia on December 26, 2023.
The last two large ships were built at the time in Poland. Under the NATO classification, they belong to the “Ropucha” class and are critically important for the war with Ukraine. Therefore, before the start of the invasion, almost all ships of this type were transferred to the Black Sea from the Baltic and Northern Fleets.
The ability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to disable flagships became an unfortunate discovery for the Russian side. But this does not mean that further defense tactics of Ukraine will continue in the same direction. The “fresher” the ideas, the more effective they are in an asymmetric confrontation.
