The death of the BDK "Saratov" in the port of Berdyansk and the reaction of the Ministry of Defense
BDK "Saratov is on fire after the explosion in Berdyansk, March 24, 2022
The city of Berdyansk was liberated by Russian troops very quickly and almost without resistance. By the end of February 28, everything was over, there were no Ukrainian troops left in the city, only individual pro-Kiev activists continued to organize anti-Russian pickets right in front of the National Guard units, knowing full well that they would get nothing for it.
In the second half of March, when the front had already moved away from the city, the port began to be used for its intended purpose - from those landing ships of the Navy, which had previously portrayed a threat of amphibious assault to Odessa, preventing the enemy from withdrawing reserves from there and throwing them to Kherson or north of Nikolaev, they began unload military equipment needed in the Mariupol direction.
On March 21, RT released several beautiful videos about the unloading of ships in the port, and those telegram channels that were the first to post them reported that Ukrainian troops had already tried to launch missile attacks on the port more than once, but Russian air defense systems repelled these attacks, which and made it possible to use the port for military purposes.
And then came March 24th.
Incident
Unfortunately, the Ministry of Defense has still not mentioned what is happening, as if nothing had happened, which again (again, the key word here) made it possible for Ukrainian psychological operations units to form a global, worldwide picture of what happened, apparently, as usual, completely or partially false, but , alas, the only one that exists.
The Department of Information and Mass Communications of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation cannot understand the simple fact that if you do not attack in the information field, then the enemy does it, if you do not give photos and videos, then the enemy does it, if you are silent, then the enemy speaks, and all that he can extract from his unquestioned dominance in the news and social networks, he will extract. More help will be knocked out for itself, more foreign mercenaries and volunteers will be lured into the country, it will be easier to attract its citizens to the troops during mobilization, and so on.
Even to the point of strategic consequences - if someone brought pictures of the art of the Ukrainian army in the Donbas to the majority of Finns, they would not be asking to join NATO now. But in reality, nothing was brought to them, and it is quite possible that they will join there, which, of course, is very good for our country.
The information war is what it is.
The incident in the port of Berdyansk is a typical example and it will be explained below why.
And now - the details.
On the morning of March 24, 2022, photos and videos with heavy smoke and flames over the pier where large landing ships were being unloaded began to come from the street webcams of Berdyansk.
In the future, these photos and videos became very numerous, they spread through telegram channels and, in principle, some of the events can be restored based on the image.
So, the cameras show us that there was an explosion on board the BDK project 1171 "Saratov" (two cranes on the deck make it possible to uniquely identify it), photo below.
At the same time, at the time of the explosion, there were two other large landing ships, project 775, which urgently began to go to sea. Video. It can be seen that on one of the outgoing BDK there is also a fire on the deck, near the gun mount.
The ship at the pier was quickly extinguished.
After some time, the American media distributed a photo of the port of Berdyansk from the Maxar satellite.
The following is clearly visible - the burning "Saratov" is in the same place. The photo shows that our BDK is submerged. There are no other BDKs nearby, but the fire continues, and its source is not on the ship, it has already been extinguished by this moment, it is burning somewhere near the fuel tanks, and there is also smoke from the Rusen mete dry cargo ship under the flag of Sierra Leone, which is standing at some distance.
By the way, he is still there, as the latest (March 29) photos from the Sentinel 2 satellite say.
Photo taken from the telegram channel "Colonelcassad"
And on March 30, a photo appeared already without smoke, which clearly shows that the ship is flooded and, apparently, lies on the ground.
Those are the facts, and now the estimates.
Versions of what happened
First, versions. In the absence of information from the native Ministry of Defense, you will have to rehash the Internet.
The main version is the strike of the Ukrainian OTR "Tochka-U" with a cluster warhead, which for some reason was missed by our air defense.
Speculation that the missile of the Tochka complex was too far to fly should be discarded - the Russian Federation does not have so many troops to control everything, the enemy could simply reach the launch line inside the territory formally controlled by the Russian Federation, the launcher is mobile, can move off-road .
Anything can happen on a "special military operation", air defense can really be broken through. Yes, and Ukraine delivered blows to the port, according to link there is a video of such a blow, just at a different time.
But then it does not explain why there was one explosion - if a cluster warhead was used, there would be many of them.
There is a video of how it all started, and it doesn't look like a missile attack.
Another version of what happened is the strike of the multiple launch rocket system of the Ukrainian troops, but here the question also arises of the dissimilarity of everything that happened to the consequences of such an attack, besides, it would be very difficult for the MLRS to be at launch distance.
The range problem could be solved by the Vilkha MLRS, which can be launched from one hundred and twenty (the planned second modification is from two hundred) kilometers, and the explosion force would be just about the same as seen in the photo. But - again, this does not look like a missile strike, based on the video.
A version of the explosion on board the BDK was voiced, which had nothing to do with the strike from the Armed Forces of Ukraine - according to the version, ammunition was unloaded from the ship, an explosion occurred due to a safety violation or for another reason, burning fragments of the BDK cargo scattered by the shock wave caused a fire on the second BDK and the fire of the fuel tank on the shore.
But why was the cargo ship smoking then? Why was he standing there on March 29, five days later? It was too far from him so that something could catch fire on a dry cargo ship from a fire or explosion on board the large landing craft.
Another version is the sabotage of Ukrainian special forces, possibly using mini-dronescarrying explosives. Then everything is explained - they hit the large landing ship, another one, a fuel tank and, within the framework of typical Ukrainian ethics, also a civilian ship, so that they knew that it was dangerous to stand next to the Russians. One undamaged Russian BDK can be explained by the fact that for some reason the drone did not fly, for example, due to a breakdown, or it was detected and shot down in time, or the explosive device did not work when it hit the ship.
This version contains the least number of contradictions, based on known facts. If we assume that there are unknowns, then the principle “it is clear that nothing is clear” works. Let's wait for what the Ministry of Defense will give out, this is not a tank blown up by a mine, which can then be included in the statistics, this is a ship with a crew of dozens of people, the fact of its "disappearance" from the combat strength of the Navy can be hidden from the Russians only by turning off in Russia Internet - but in general globally it is impossible in principle. And it is worth saying something about the losses, if any.
There is no data on how many military personnel died during the incident, or whether anyone died at all.
In social networks, completely different versions are voiced, at the maximum - many dozens of dead. In principle, everything is possible, all options are real, from zero to dozens.
And also there is definitely no data on the damage that was caused to the ship. Most likely, "Saratov" will still be written off, otherwise it will be extremely surprising, but, again, this is a guess based on the available photos and videos - and nothing more. Usually, of course, after such a ship does not survive.
So all that remains is to wait. The Ministry of Defense has to say something sooner or later. They can't pretend forever that nothing happened.
It must also be said about news about the funeral of three sailors from the large landing ship "Novocherkassk" in the Sevastopol. Immediately following the results of the incident, it was said that there were three dead on this BDK that had gone to sea (the one on which the gun mount was on fire), but, to tell the truth, we do not know if there were other dead sailors, not from Sevastopol. So far, nothing is known about this.
Aftermath
The fact that the ship was lost and people died is understandable, but it doesn’t boil down to this. An important consequence of not even the incident itself, but its stubborn silence, is the repetition of the effect that was achieved when the information troops of Ukraine with hundreds or thousands of military personnel, the help of the West and well-established methods for fooling people were opposed by the daily briefing of Major General Konashenkov several minutes long. Namely - the "drain" of information confrontation with the enemy.
From the point of view of ordinary people, especially non-Russian ones, the picture looks like this - there is a fact that the ship was hit, there is a fire, there is a fact that the ship no longer moves after the incident, there are satellite photos with water on top of the deck (at least it seems that way when viewed) - eat. There are rumors about dozens of dead and the loss of the ship. And the official reaction from the Russian Defense Ministry? And she is not.
That is, a foreign citizen is in a situation where an event takes place (there is no doubt that there was an incident), there is an explanation from the Ukrainian side (even if different explanations) and ignoring from the Russian side.
And this means - attention - that, from the point of view of an outside observer, the information about the events from the Ukrainian side at least somehow corresponds to the actually observed facts, while the Russian one is untethered from reality in principle.
The next time the Ukrainians broadcast a fake picture with reference to real events, and the Russians again pretend that nothing is happening, the foreign citizen will believe the Ukrainians, the Ukrainian too, and some Russian citizens may accept the enemy’s point of view.
Let's give an example - in Ukrainian and Western social networks and public there is a lot of information about the breakthrough of Russian troops to Krivoy Rog, and that the recently repulsed counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops (the pogrom of their forces by our artillery and aviation when trying to approach the Russian troops) - it was an unsuccessful attempt to strike on the flank of the group advanced to Krivoy Rog, and not just a failed attack on Kherson.
And in the briefings of Major General Konashenkov, there are no troops near Krivoy Rog at all. Not in the sense that the Ministry of Defense denies their presence there, no, they are simply not mentioned.
What if tomorrow Ukrainians start spawning fakes about the atrocities of Russian troops near Kryvyi Rih? Or arrange a provocation there with a chemical weapons? Indeed, in the reality broadcast by the Ministry of Defense, there are no troops at all, they are not mentioned anywhere. Will we be silent again?
But what if the enemy publishes some data from the means of objective control, for example, American satellite photos of our troops, and again the situation is the same as with the BDK - there is a fact of the presence of troops, but the Russians did not confirm that they were there, it was shown Ukrainians, there is a fact of fighting, but the Russians did not talk about it, the Ukrainians reported it, and now the Ukrainians reported the third fact - the chemical attack, and the fourth - that it was Russian.
Will a Western citizen doubt the fidelity of the fourth fact, if the first three were exactly true, and the RF Armed Forces did not even mention them? It's all simple.
The situation with the BDK has already been discussed on a lot of Western platforms - from Twitter to various forums, our Ministry of Defense does not comment on it at all, which, of course, increases confidence in the information that comes from it - how else?
Those who speak English know that an iron, unshakable conviction of the masses has been formed outside the Russian Federation that Russia is on the verge of a military defeat in Ukraine, that its losses are huge, that its army is an empty place, the losses of Ukrainians are much less than the Russians. The inhabitants of Ukraine have the same opinion.
And this is in conditions when, in fact, Ukraine itself is on the verge of defeat, and its losses are much greater than ours, in the optimistic version for them - at times, and most likely, dozens!
How did this become possible? How can there be such a break with reality in the minds? And like this - if the information field is given to the enemy, then he occupies it, and story with BDK - the clearest example. And the conviction in the victory of Ukraine and mobilization for it itself simplifies, strengthens the will of the population to resist and stimulates the influx of foreign fighters. If they knew how real it is there, maybe they wouldn’t go, otherwise they are here and will shoot at our soldiers.
What prevented during the briefing just to go and say that:
“at **** (insert your version of what happened here) there was an explosion at the Saratov large landing ship, followed by a fire, the fire was extinguished, the possibility of repairing the ship is being studied while it is in the port of Berdyansk, partially flooded and landed on the ground, there is no way to evacuate it yet. Also, the BDK "****" received minor damage, the ship is currently on the move at sea and is ready to perform combat missions.
Was it that hard? Everyone understands that our troops are not at the resort there, anything happens, the enemy always has the right to make a move. Arrivals according to ours were and will be. But instead they did, as always. Despite the fact that always, too, no one interfered with doing everything according to the mind.
But, in addition to the informational component of the event, there is also a purely military one.
A few annoying questions
I really wanted to postpone all the showdowns until the moment when everything is over, and the new laws hint at the need to keep quiet. But to pretend that everything is fine, endlessly does not work, although they very much want this from us. Therefore - just a few questions to the command, without explanation.
Why were webcams not turned off in Berdyansk? This is one of the important intelligence tools these days, everyone knows about it. Why were journalists allowed into the port through which equipment is delivered? Or, alternatively, why were they allowed to publish the video before the last BDK left Berdyansk?
Why did the unloading of the BDK take place during the day?
Why, instead of the correct “raid-port-raid” scheme, when the ship enters the port from the road only for quick unloading and immediately leaves, three BDKs were brought into the port at once, moored nearby and stood quietly there (the quick exit to the sea of the pair 775 says about the fact that at that very moment they were not unloading - but were standing at the pier)? How does all this comply with the requirements of the regulatory documents of the Navy and (in the case of cameras) counterintelligence?
Who is to blame for all this? Is this person or these people being punished, or has our “system learned to forgive”?
For society, the last question and the answer to it are important, and our Ministry of Defense must answer the rest for itself, maybe not publicly, but without fail. And draw conclusions for the future.
This special military operation is our most important war (let's call a spade a spade already) after the Great Patriotic War. And the most difficult. And our enemy is the strongest and most dangerous since the Great Patriotic War. This is a fight for our survival.
And there simply cannot be any place for some kind of relaxation or carelessness, incompetence or misunderstanding by senior officers of what they are doing - the existence of Russia is at stake, and not even the state of the Russian Federation, but Russia in principle, as a historical phenomenon. Defeat would mean she would be gone.
There are objectively no prerequisites for such a defeat, whatever one may say, but things are bad for Ukraine, and only external interference can save the Kyiv regime.
But subjectively, it is quite possible to create the prerequisites for defeat by driving entire detachments of ships into the front-line port during the day under the included cameras, which are used by the enemy with special forces and tactical missiles. And then, during the information support of a special military operation, pretending that nothing happened. Even when the whole world has already seen this “nothing”.
On the 30th day of a special military operation, it would be possible not to do so. On the 35th too. This enemy cannot defeat us if we do not "help" him. But you don't have to help.
And the last thing, especially for the Ministry of Defense - the Internet exists, but people are talking, and this cannot be changed, even by amendments to laws. And even if everyone is silent, this does not mean at all that no one understands or knows anything.
PS
While the material was being prepared for release, Ukrainian Mi-24s attacked an oil depot in Belgorod. From the point of view of the Ukrainian command, the oil depot seems to be a quite logical target. Alas, according to their old tradition, they also fired at the printing house. What did the printing house do for them? It's good that no one died there.
This time, the Department of Information and Mass Communications reacted, to quote Major General I. E. Konashenkov:
“On April 1, at about 5 am Moscow time, two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters entered the airspace of the Russian Federation at an extremely low altitude. Ukrainian helicopters launched a missile attack on a civilian oil storage facility located on the outskirts of Belgorod. As a result of the missile hit, individual tanks were damaged and caught fire.
I want to emphasize that only civil transport was supplied with fuel from this facility. The tank farm has nothing to do with the Russian armed forces.”
I want to emphasize that only civil transport was supplied with fuel from this facility. The tank farm has nothing to do with the Russian armed forces.”
And that's it, the question from the point of view of the information war is simply closed. True, we had to wait a long time, the whole day, but it’s good that they didn’t do it in the DIMK MO, as with Berdyansk. But if the Defense Ministry kept silent again, it is hard to imagine what the Ukrainian units of psychological operations would inflate out of all this.
And so they flew by, the propaganda effect will be zero. After all, our people understand everything.
Sometimes you just need to say it out loud.
Information