As of: March 28, 2024, 11:44 p.m
By: Momir Takac
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The Russian military changes the navy's strategy in the Ukraine war. A new river fleet is intended to prevent attacks across the Dnepr.
Munich – The British Ministry of Defense gives a daily assessment of the situation in the Ukraine war. In its report on March 27, it discussed the situation in Kherson, which is hotly contested. The city on the Dnieper in the south is considered a strategically important gateway to the Crimean peninsula. Russia is said to be planning a new river fleet there.
Russia is planning a new flotilla in the Ukraine war: relief for the battered Black Sea fleet
According to Russian media reports, long-time naval chief Nikolai Yevmenov was fired around March 10th. On March 20, Putin named Admiral Alexander Moiseyev
as the new commander-in-chief, according to state news agency
Tass
. On the same day, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a restructuring of the armed forces, including the formation of a separate river unit.
Ukrainian marines on the Dnieper will soon face a new Russian river unit. © Alex Babenko/AP/dpa
According to the British Ministry of Defense, the Dnepr Flotilla - a naval group made up of several boats or warships - is intended to secure the waterways and islands of the Dnepr, which separate the parts of the Kherson region controlled by Russia and Ukraine.
Russia's new Dnieper naval group could be an easy target for naval drones in the Ukraine war
As the ministry further writes in its update on X, Russia wants to use the new unit to prevent operations by Ukrainian troops across the river. It cited the Krynky settlement as an example, where Ukrainian soldiers have been defying Russian attacks and holding a bridgehead for weeks. It is likely that the new flotilla will take over the patrolling duties of the Black Sea Fleet, which in turn could operate further afield in the eastern Black Sea.
However, British defense officials estimate that the new naval formation could become an easy target for Ukraine. “The Dnieper Flotilla will likely be vulnerable to Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicles, which proved effective in destroying Russian ships in the Black Sea,” the report said. In the past, the Ukrainian military had used maritime drones to deliver decisive strikes against Russian warships.
(mt)