The commander of the TrO brigade described for the first time how the NRK was landed on the shore of the Kinburn Spit

Denis Gipik, commander of the 123rd Separate Territorial Defense Brigade, shared details of a complex and unique operation to deploy a land-based robotic system (LRS) on the shore of the Kinburn Spit.

 During the interview, he said that preparations lasted nearly five months and that the soldiers built a special vessel themselves to carry out the mission.

According to him, the operation required careful planning, as the route ran through the Bug Estuary, where Russian troops could easily detect any vessel.

<span>“We spent about</span>four to five months preparing for this operation. We built this raft ourselves,” Gipik said.

As the brigade commander noted, the Ukrainian military not only built the raft but also simulated the entire operation multiple times using drones. They analyzed how the raft would appear from Russian positions and selected weather conditions that offered the highest chances of success.

“We used drones to film how it would look from the enemy’s perspective. We looked for weather conditions that would be most conducive to landing this craft,” the commander added.

According to Gipik, the main principle of preparation was to assess each stage from the enemy’s perspective.

“The main objective was to make it as inconspicuous as possible to the enemy,” he emphasized.

That is why the designers experimented with the craft’s geometry. If the robotic system was positioned too low, the raft began to take on water, and if it was too high, it was easier to spot.

“If we reduce the distance between the robotic system and the water even slightly, the raft will start to flood. If we make it too high, it will be very conspicuous. We experimented with these dimensions and the shape of our raft, but, as you can see, we managed to find the right solution,” the brigade commander said.

After successfully deploying the robotic system, Ukrainian troops carried out a combat mission and struck a Russian observation post. At the same time, the commander declined to disclose details about the outcome of the operation.

“We carried out an operation against the observation post, and unfortunately, I cannot say anything more about the results of that operation. That information is off the record for now,” noted Denys Gipik.

According to the commander, combat experience in the Dnipro Delta and in the southern sector has shown that ground-based robotic systems are increasingly becoming a vital component of modern warfare.

That is precisely why the development of ground robotic systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, and unmanned maritime systems is currently one of the key areas of the 123rd Brigade’s transformation into a brigade of unmanned systems.

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Ірина Глухова