Ret. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling on Friday had nothing but praise for the Ukrainian military for its sinking of the Moskva, the prized Black Sea flagship of the Russian Navy.
During a discussion on CNN, host Jake Tapper asked Hertling about the significance of the Ukrainians taking out such an important warship.
"A lot is still not known about the tactics and the manner of the attack, it certainly probably included Neptun missiles, but I would suggest there were a lot of other things," Hertling began. "Having said that, I would suggest there's some real tactical brilliance that was behind this attack. Is it strategically important? I would say, operationally and tactically, the Russians will now have an extremely difficult time conducting any type of amphibious attack on the black sea coast without this warship."
He went on to note the Moskva's important role in helping defend the rest of the Russian Navy by providing "command and control" for its air defense.
He wrapped up by putting it into the broader context of the war.
"We can't take this as a singular event," he said. "This naval loss goes along with the destruction of the Russian parachute regiment the first week of the war. Seven generals being killed. 20,000 Russians that have been killed in action. The destruction of 700 tanks, and other equipment across the board."
Watch the video below.
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