Vladimir Putin’s naval chiefs are too afraid to send their warships to Crimea after two have been destroyed and an intelligence collecting vessel was damaged in the Black Sea.
Russian military ports in Crimea are not able to carry out various tasks including Sevastopol in handling certain types of missiles.
A new briefing, from the Institute for the Study of War (SW) have said that the Black Sea Fleet (BSF) “bases are structurally inferior.”
Putin’s “ships are sinking” as Russian gathering warship, the Ivan Khurs has been damaged by a Ukrainian rocket strike in the Black Sea.
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Putin’s ‘ships are sinking’ as Ukraine obliterates ‘SIGINT intelligence’ warship in Black Sea
Putin has suffered devastating loses across his Black Sea Fleet as Ukrainian strikes took out the “nerve centre” of Russian intelligence operations.
The Black Sea has become another part of the frontline which has seen many warships destroyed that has left the naval fleet “functionally inactive.”
The intelligence gathering warship was used to coordinate airstrikes in Ukraine along with naval defences in the Black Sea.
“The defence forces of Ukraine successfully hit the Azov and Yamal large landing ships, a communications centre and also several infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in temporarily occupied Crimea,” Ukraine’s military said in a statement.
Analysts said in a new briefing, “ISW previously assessed that Ukrainian strikes against BSF assets caused the BSF to move some ships away from its main base in Sevastopol and hampered its ability to operate in the western part of the Black Sea.
“Ukrainian officials have recently reported that other BSF bases are structurally inferior to the one in Sevastopol and that Russian forces must still perform some tasks, such as reloading Kalibr missile systems on ships and submarines, in Sevastopol as other bases lack the capacity to handle such missiles.
“The latest Ukrainian strikes targeting BSF ships, regardless of the extent of the damage caused, will likely continue to deter Russian forces from redeploying ships to Sevastopol and the western Black Sea and complicate the BSF’s ability to maximize its combat capabilities.”
The British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said that due to continued missile attacks by Ukrainian forces has left Russia’s Black Sea Fleet “functionally inactive.”
Two large Russian warships were destroyed on Sunday in the Black Sea plus other naval facilities.
The Yamal and the Azov are estimated to cost around £170 million each leaving Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet virtually non-existent.
Shapps said, “Putin’s continued illegal occupation of Ukraine is exacting a massive cost on Russia’s Black Sea fleet which is now functionally inactive.
“Russia has sailed the Black Sea since 1783 but is now forced to constrain [its] fleet to port. And even there, Putin’s ships are sinking.”
