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What the Sevastopol strike signalled by 27 September 2023
Summary
A look back at how a missile attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters and the arrival of US tanks framed Ukraine's security picture.
What did the security picture in Ukraine look like on 27 September 2023? Three developments from the preceding days gave the clearest outline: a strike on Crimea, a delivery of Western armour and continued Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities.
A strike on the fleet's headquarters
On 22 September 2023, the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, Crimea, was hit in a Ukrainian missile attack. At least one person was killed and a fire broke out in the building. The attack was later described as having used Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles launched by Su-24 aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, which partially destroyed the headquarters building. Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence (HUR), later referred to the operation as Operation Crab Trap.
Western armour arrives
On 25 September 2023, Ukraine received its first shipment of M1 Abrams tanks from the United States. The delivery formed part of the wider flow of military aid to Ukraine during the war.
Pressure on civilians continued
Russian missile strikes across Ukraine on 21 September 2023 killed at least two civilians and injured 21 others. The attacks showed that Russia's strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure and population centres were continuing even as Ukraine struck at a major Russian command site.
Why it mattered
Taken together, the events pointed to a conflict in which Ukraine was extending its reach against Russian military leadership in Crimea while adding to its stock of Western-supplied equipment. Russia, for its part, kept up missile attacks across the country. Together, these developments defined the security situation as of 27 September 2023.
