"From now on, consider it an island." Who and how is carrying out the operation to "cut off" Crimea

Collage: Ukrainian service of the BBC

For the strikes, Ukrainian forces used domestically produced middle-strike UAVs for the first time. In previous years, the Ukrainian Armed Forces used Western Storm Shadow cruise missiles and HIMARS reactive system munitions to destroy bridge spans.

Now, attacks on key Crimean bridges - near Chongar and Armyansk - were carried out by Ukrainian FP-2 and "Begemot" (only Chongar was hit by them) drones, which are capable of carrying 75-100 kg of warhead over a distance of up to 300 km.

Strikes on Chongar were carried out on the night of June 6-7, and again - on the night of June 9. Bridges near Armyansk were attacked on June 11.

Also, on June 8, a bridge leading from Henichesk to the Arabat Spit was struck.

All of them are significantly damaged, as publicly admitted by the occupation authorities of Kherson Oblast, and require repair. Traffic on them has been stopped. The Russians are urgently trying to set up pontoon crossings.

This campaign of "cutting off" Crimea was organized and carried out by an entirely new structure within the Ukrainian Armed Forces, about which there has been minimal information until now.

We are talking about the "Falanga" multidomain operations center.

What is "Falanga"

This structure was formed in the spring of 2026 by a decision of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, uniting the forces of two powerful assault units: the First Separate Assault Regiment named after Dmytro Kotsiubailo and the 475th Separate Assault Regiment Code 9.2.

They were created in 2022 on the basis of volunteer units, quickly scaled up, and organized an effective way to combine drone and assault operations at the front.

Both regiments have a glorious combat history; for example, the 1st Separate Assault Regiment is known for battles near Pokrovsk, and the 475th Separate Assault Regiment for participating in the operation to liberate Kupyansk at the end of 2025.

The units are headed by two Heroes of Ukraine - Major Dmytro Filatov (call sign "Perun") commands the 1st Separate Assault Regiment, and Major Oleksandr Nastenko (call sign "Flint") - the 475th Separate Assault Regiment.

The multidomain center got its name from the combat formation of infantry in Ancient Greece. The main weapon of the first line of warriors in the phalanx was a long spear (4-7 meters long). The combination of this weapon and the formation structure gave significant advantages to the army of Alexander the Great.

Indeed, this is the logic behind the naming of the Ukrainian innovation, explains commander Oleksandr Nastenko in an interview with the Ukrainian service of the BBC.

The point is that Ukrainian assault forces received their "long spear" - middle-strike attack drones, primarily the FP-2 - for the first time. Previously, they only had short-range drones.

"Alexander the Great did not invent the long spear, but it was he who was able to build an invincible battle formation on it," notes "Flint."

"Middle-strikes" by infantrymen have effectively replaced tactical aviation at the front, he adds.

Павялічыць

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy presents the Order of Bohdan Khmelnytsky to then-company commander of UAVs Oleksandr Nastenko in June 2023. Since then, he has headed an assault regiment and received the title of Hero of Ukraine. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine

According to him, some powerful Russian fortifications can only be destroyed by powerful air bombs, but every flight of a Ukrainian bomber is extremely risky, as it is a priority target for Russia.

In addition, Ukrainian aviation is currently mainly engaged not in supporting troops on the front line, but in performing air defense functions in the rear.

Equipping assault regiments with long-range drones has also significantly accelerated the time for planning and conducting operations.

While a request for air support could be considered for weeks, now an operation involving drone strikes on Russian positions at medium range (100-300 km) takes only a few hours.

"The reactivity we gained sometimes has decisive importance on the battlefield. I don't need to look for someone to hit this target now. I can take it myself and hit it," says the commander of the 475th Separate Assault Regiment.

The rapid increase in the range of assault units corresponds to the logic of this war.

The larger the "kill zone", which is currently about 20 km, the fewer targets there are to hit within and near it. Therefore, frontline units, especially those with a developed unmanned component, are simply forced to look for targets tens or even hundreds of kilometers from the LBS (line of combat contact).

Therefore, this spring, the idea arose to combine the planning, reconnaissance, and operation execution units from several assault regiments into a single center.

That's how "Falanga" appeared.

Павялічыць

Dmytro Filatov ("Perun") began the war in the Special Operations Forces reconnaissance, and later joined Dmytro Kotsiubailo's ("Da Vinci") volunteer unit. In 2024, he took command of the regiment named after him. Photo: 1st Separate Assault Battalion

Nastenko emphasizes that the main task of the center is reconnaissance and planning. It also analyzes the battlefield and the effect of the strikes carried out. Depending on this, ground assault operations are then planned "on the ground," i.e., directly in the unit's area of responsibility.

Depending on the success and effectiveness of "Falanga's" work, the Ministry of Defense plans to scale this experience to other military units in the future.

"The 'Falanga' multidomain operations center is already showing very good results. It was created specifically for planning and implementing successful assault actions. Not for other purposes. This is not a coordination center for unmanned systems, it is not a coordination center for fire engagement. This is precisely a center that plans ground assault operations," he explains.

Currently, both aforementioned assault regiments are fighting in the Huliaipole direction and are trying to contain the advance towards Zaporizhzhia of almost 100,000 Russian "Vostok" grouping troops.

In fact, it was precisely for this purpose that the decision was made to attack the Crimean bridges.

Strikes on Crimean bridges

How was the operation planned?

The cyber-reconnaissance of the "Falanga" center discovered that the Russian army had changed the route for fuel delivery to the Huliaipole direction, says Oleksandr Nastenko.

Previously, it went from Taganrog along the highway to Mariupol. But at the end of spring, Ukrainian servicemen were able to take this highway under fire control and destroyed hundreds of units of Russian Armed Forces transport, including fuel tankers.

Therefore, the Russian command decided to reroute them - through Crimea.

Ukrainian cyber-reconnaissance intercepted this information.

"We received information that a very large Russian convoy was being prepared. Within a short period - about 6 hours - it was decided to strike the Chongar bridge to prevent this convoy from passing. This was late at night from June 6 to 7. We did not damage this bridge enough, and a day later we struck it again," "Flint" recounts.

Having blocked one bridge crossing, "Falanga" fighters immediately began preparing strikes on the remaining bridges on the Armyansk - Perekop stretch.

Павялічыць

An FP-2 drone, controlled by operators of the "Falanga" center, attacks a truck on the bridge in Armyansk on June 11. This is one of the key arteries connecting Crimea to the mainland. Photo: 1st Separate Assault Battalion

Cyber-reconnaissance intercepted information that one of the Russian brigade commanders told his subordinates: try to pass through Armyansk.

The "Falanga" center decided to strike in this area: to attack one bridge in Armyansk and two bypass bridges over the canal. The Russian convoy was precisely standing in this section, waiting for passage.

"All three bridges were very heavily damaged, and the equipment was destroyed. It was a large convoy of Russian equipment," Nastenko noted.

Dmytro Filatov, commander of the 1st Separate Assault Regiment, said that this convoy consisted of about 50 vehicles, including fuel tankers. Some of them were hit.

In videos published by the regiment's press service, it can be seen that FP-2 drones are attacking a truck standing in line before the bridge. At least 10 vehicles are visible in the queue.

What is the result of the operation?

According to Commander Nastenko, logistics to Crimea are already "destroyed."

"There is no longer a transport corridor to Crimea from the mainland. We have issued a 'death sentence.' By striking the bridges, we have desacralized this object. I have no doubt that all bridges will be finished off. This will be systematic work 100%. From now on, Crimea can be considered an island. Let the Russians buy boats to get to the mainland," he stated.

According to him, the Russians' use of pontoon crossings instead of bridges will "facilitate" the work of the Defense Forces.

"We didn't have the task of completely destroying the bridges. In principle, we are satisfied with the current situation. Damaged bridges mean limited traffic. When they deploy pontoons, it doesn't provide the same throughput as a stationary bridge. There's only reversible traffic: one lane moves, the other waits. And so it is all day. Huge 'tails' of cars are created, logistics break down."

Павялічыць

Queue of Russian trucks before the bridge in Armyansk. Representatives of the "Falanga" center say that the destruction of fuel tankers has already led to a significant fuel shortage in the Russian army at the front. Photo: 1st Separate Assault Battalion

According to the regiment commander, Russian units in Zaporizhzhia will soon experience significant problems due to disrupted logistics.

He cited intercepted data on the growing fuel deficit in Russian brigades of the "Vostok" grouping.

"I tell you: it's simply a catastrophe. The volume of fuel allocated to all brigades of the grouping is so small that just one of our regiments 'gulps' that much. That is, their fuel situation is very, very bad," says Nastenko.

According to him, the Russians do not stop trying to transport fuel tankers from Crimea to the mainland. They disguise them as civilian transport, for example, by cladding them with wood.

If Russia's logistics can be kept blocked for a "prolonged period," then one can expect opportunities for "successful actions" by the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front, says Oleksandr Nastenko, while not revealing what he means by the phrase "successful actions."

"Do I believe that preconditions are being created for certain successful actions at the front? Yes, I do. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. Everything is just beginning. I think that with an increase in the volume of means supplied to us, there will be more and more damages."

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