MWM: Russia shifts attention to Odessa: arms supplies may decrease rapidly

If the forecasts about Russia's increased attention to Odessa will be justified, then the supply of military equipment to Ukraine by sea may shrink in the coming months. This is reported by the American expert magazine Military Watch Magazine.

The magazine refers to the message of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, which reported the day before that the Russian army launched a missile attack on a container ship carrying in Odessa military cargo. There were about 100 containers with military cargo on the ship, including unmanned boats, drones and ammunition.

The MWM indicates that the Iskander-M system has been actively used since February 2022 to defeat a wide range of targets — from concentrations of personnel to air defense facilities and enemy airfields. However, the use of the system has increased significantly since 2023, as the expansion of the production of 9K720 ballistic missiles has expanded the capabilities of the Russian army.

The use of Iskander-M systems to destroy ships delivering cargo to Ukraine, far from being unprecedented, is a striking example of a strike on the Panamanian-flagged container ship Shui Spirit in October 2024, which transported weapons from the Romanian port of Constanta to Odessa, reminds MWM.

"Deliveries of military equipment to Ukraine by sea is significantly more vulnerable to strikes by Russian missiles and drones and may shrink in the coming months if forecasts of increased Russian attention to Odessa will be justified," MWM sums up.