As of: March 25, 2024, 3:32 p.m
By: Fabian Müller
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Press
Split
After several reports say that around a third of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was sunk during the Ukraine War, the Kremlin wants to better protect its ships.
Sevastopol/Novorossiysk – The Russian armed forces want to better protect their Black Sea fleet from Ukrainian attacks in the future.
After a series of attacks by the Ukrainian army, daily training must be carried out “on how to repel attacks from the air and from unmanned boats,” said Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu during a visit to the Black Sea Fleet on Sunday.
The British Ministry of Defense also sees the Russian Black Sea Fleet on the defensive.
Its daily intelligence report said on Tuesday that the fleet would have to limit itself to the eastern part of its area of operations.
“As Ukraine continues to seek long-range strike opportunities, the Russian Defense Ministry is compelled to step up efforts to protect its fleet in the Black Sea,” it said.
In February there were already unconfirmed reports that fleet commander Viktor Sokolov had been replaced.
The patrol ship Sergei Kotov (far right) in 2022 at a Navy Day parade in the Russian Black Sea port city of Novorossiysk.
© IMAGO/Vitaly Timkiv/SNA
Russian Black Sea Fleet under attack: Putin wants to better protect ships
According to Ukrainian information, its own soldiers have destroyed more than two dozen Russian ships since the start of the Ukrainian war with Russia.
That's almost a third of the fleet's inventory.
The Russian Navy was therefore forced months ago to relocate ships from its historic Black Sea Fleet base in Sevastopol in the annexed Crimea to the port of Novorossiysk, further east.
The change at the top of the Russian Navy must also be interpreted in this context: Moscow replaced Admiral Yevmonov as commander-in-chief on Tuesday, with Admiral Alexander Moiseyev taking over the post on an interim basis.
Russian state news agencies reported this on Tuesday.
No reasons are officially given.
Defense Minister Shoigu could benefit from the Russians' change of strategy
According to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War, or ISW for short, Russian Defense Minister Shoigu wants to divert attention from himself in the event of further losses.
According to the report, if the Black Sea Fleet were to be more successful in the future, he could take credit for it; if losses continued to be recorded, he could shift responsibility.
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According to military experts, the losses in recent months can be attributed primarily to attacks by Ukraine with missiles and maritime drones - unmanned boats loaded with explosives.
Because of the threat from Ukrainian armed forces, Russian naval combat units have largely withdrawn from the occupied Crimean peninsula.
(fmu)