Ukraine is taking needle pricks against Russia in Crimea. Kyiv is targeting Moscow's warships. The Black Sea Fleet is suffering from this.
Kiev – Russia's losses in the Ukraine war are exorbitantly high. The Navy is particularly affected by this. Since the start of the Russian offensive, Ukraine says it has either damaged or sunk a large number of Black Sea Fleet ships.
The fleet is repeatedly exposed to attacks, particularly around the Crimean peninsula, which has been annexed by Russia since 2014. The Ukrainians achieved the most prominent kill shortly after the start of the war with the sinking of the “Moskva”. Until then, the missile cruiser was considered the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Ukraine celebrates sinking of Russia's flagship “Moskva”
Ukraine took the anniversary of the sinking of the “Moskva” on April 14th as an opportunity to mock Russia once again. “Two years ago, Ukrainian fighters destroyed the largest warship in the Russian Black Sea Fleet – the cruiser Moskva,” the Kiev Defense Ministry proudly announced on the online platform X. “The most important question is: How is the Moskva River actually doing at the bottom of the Black Sea?”
Neptune-type anti-ship missiles had destroyed the cruiser. Dmytro Pletentschuk emphasized that three things were crucial for this: “clear planning”, “patience” and “monitoring”. The spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy described
the attack in detail in an interview with the Ukrainian magazine
Novosti.LIVE
. A first missile killed several high-ranking commanders before the ship was badly hit by a second missile. “Russia was not prepared for this blow,” said Pletenchuk.
Ukraine specifically targets Russia's Black Sea Fleet
The warship losses in the Ukraine war have so far been devastating for Russia. The Black Sea Fleet has lost around a third of its combat ships over the course of the war. In addition to the “Moskva”, the following ships were also affected:
“Iwan Golubets”
: The minesweeper is damaged in a drone attack on October 29, 2022
“Novocherkassk”
:
The landing ship is hit and destroyed on December 26, 2023
“Ivanovets”
: The corvette sinks in Lake Donuslav on February 1, 2024
“Zesar Kunikov”
: The landing ship is severely damaged and capsizes on February 14, 2024
“Sergei Kotov”
: The heavy patrol boat probably sank after being hit by a maritime drone on March 5, 2024
Without giving any reasons, President Vladimir Putin appointed a new commander in chief of his navy and a new commander of the Black Sea Fleet at the beginning of April. Admiral Alexander Moiseyev succeeded Nikolai Yevmenov as commander-in-chief of the Russian fleet. At the same time, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the appointment of Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk as commander of the Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine currently puts the number of ships from Russia destroyed in the past two years at 26 (as of April 16).
(cs)