Expert: Russian targets in Crimea in range of Ukraine’s new Neptune missile
The new Ukrainian Neptune missile, which was recently tested in the Odessa province, will be capable of destroying military targets in Russian-annexed Crimea once it is adopted into the armament, said military expert and director of the information consulting firm Defense Express, Serhiy Zhurets, in a Radio Krym.Realii broadcast.
“Yes, absolutely, it’s possible. This is an attempt to substantially deal with the matter of military capabilities through asymmetric actions. We won’t have time to build ships with large displacement, but the presence of a missile component, which can be used from the coast, from small boats, from fighters – this is a course of action which will make Russia worry,” the expert observed.
Zhurets added that, although the Neptune’s range is stated to be 300 km, in practice it will be much greater, as per the example of the Russian Kalibr missiles.
Another stage of the Neptune’s testing took place in the Odessa province earlier. According to Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov, the missile “is capable of taking out any sea or land targets”.
On August 16, the press service of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet reported that the Admiral Grigorovich frigate had fired its first Kalibr missiles in the Black Sea. The target, which imitated an enemy ship, was roughly 80 km away. The Admiral Makarov frigate also began to move from the Baltic to the Black Sea, to be permanently based in annexed Sevastopol. The ship is armed with Kalibr-NK and Shtil missiles.