Attacks on Odesa and Mykolaiv: the Russians are testing another strategy

Consequences of the Russian missile attack on Mykolaiv on March 17 / Photo: Serhii Ovcharyshyn, NikVesti

In recent days, the Russians have carried out similar missile attacks on Mykolaiv and Odesa, hitting the same place twice. Such planned strikes may indicate that the occupiers purposefully released shells for greater damage.

This was reported by the head of the press center of the Defense Forces of the South of the United Press Center of OK «Pivden» Nataliia Humeniuk on the air of the telethon.

She emphasized that the Russians are not stopping the pressure on the civilian population and the infrastructure of southern Ukraine.

«It is obvious that the enemy is trying to find another tactic or tactical technique in order to put pressure on the population and infrastructure of the southern regions of Ukraine. They promoted this narrative of pressure on the south even before the start of the election campaign in the Russian Federation and now continue to promote it as an effort to convince the south that a «Russian peace» is waiting for them,» Nataliia Humeniuk said.

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She noted that the occupiers used a similar attack strategy during rocket attacks. They fired rockets at identical locations, withstanding a short pause between attacks. Thus, the aggressor tried to cause as much damage as possible among the workers of the rescue services and the civilian population.

«The pause between one and the second strike precisely provides for the arrival of the relevant services at the scene and their immediate response. That is why, during the minister's visit to Odesa, a meeting was held on working out the correct algorithm for saving people's lives, including emergency services employees. Thanks to this, it was possible to avoid a similar tragedy in Mykolaiv directly. The pause was only a few minutes, two rockets hit. It is obvious that the enemy tried to target the city of Mykolayiv itself and one of its districts, the industrial one,» explained the spokeswoman of the OK «Pivden».

Ballistic strike on Mykolaiv on March 17

On the afternoon of March 17, Russian troops shelled Mykolaiv from installations located on the territory of temporarily occupied Crimea. The first flight arrived at 14:01, and the next one 7 minutes later.

As of 16:00 in the evening, 5 victims were known, one of them died in the hospital.

According to the head of the RMA Vitalii Kim, the police blocked the traffic in time because there could have been more victims.

Utility workers immediately began working at the site of the shelling and eliminating the consequences of the attack. Brigades of CP «Pilot» and the Red Cross helped residents with OSB-plates.

Law enforcement officers have started an investigation into the fact of the shelling of Mykolaiv on March 17 and the murder of a 50-year-old man.