The Black Sea Fleet is said to have moved ships from Sevastopol. This is also an economic success for Ukraine.
Ukraine did not defeat the Russian Black Sea Fleet militarily, but apparently drove it out of its headquarters. Satellite images are said to show that many warships from Sevastopol in Crimea were relocated east to Novorossiysk. This is reported by the “Wall Street Journal”. British Defense Secretary James Heappey had previously spoken at a security conference in Warsaw that the Russian fleet was “functionally defeated.”
The Wall Street Journal cites Mikhail Barabanov, an analyst at a Moscow-based think tank who examined the satellite images. Accordingly, all three submarines stationed in the Crimean port, two frigates and a patrol boat were brought to Novorossiysk. There is another Black Sea Fleet base there. The city is located in the Krasnodar Region and is out of range of Ukrainian missiles.
In addition, landing craft and smaller missile boats as well as mine-sweeping boats were brought to Feodosiya, whose port is further east of the Crimean peninsula.
Fleet now out of missile range
The move comes after several attacks in Crimea, including on the fleet headquarters building and several ships. A submarine and a landing craft that were in a dock were also hit. It is believed that English and French medium-range missiles were used. But these do not reach as far as Novorossiysk. However, there had already been an attack by Ukrainian naval drones there.
Yoruk Isik, a naval expert and head of consulting firm Bosphorus Observer, told the US newspaper that the satellite images showed nets and barges at the entrance to the shipyard in Feodosiya – apparently Russian navy security measures. “They have some security concerns that Ukraine can carry out a successful naval operation here,” said Isik, who also confirmed that the images showed that the Russian warships had been moved from Sevastopol to the other ports.
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After several attacks from the air and with sea drones, Ukraine said it had landed troops on the peninsula a week ago. But they withdrew after a firefight with Russian soldiers and there were losses, said Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian secret service.
Pressure on fleet facilitates passage of grain ships
The pressure on the Black Sea Fleet has several reasons. On the one hand, Russia had threatened to block grain ships from Odessa. Attacks on port facilities followed. Ukraine’s activities limit Russia’s ability to freely navigate its ships between Crimea and the Ukrainian coast.
A Ukrainian military spokeswoman said on Wednesday that Ukraine had pushed back the front line in the Black Sea by at least 100 nautical miles from the Ukrainian coast. Russian ships no longer sail beyond Cape Tarhankut at the western end of the Crimean peninsula, said Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces. This means that Ukraine can also catch up economically.
According to the Ukrainian Navy, twelve more freighters are ready to use the shipping corridor in the Black Sea and enter Ukrainian ports. In addition, ten freighters could leave Ukraine again, says navy spokesman Dmytro Pientschuk.
Setback for Putin
In August, Ukraine announced a so-called humanitarian corridor in the Black Sea through which cargo ships that have been stuck since the start of the war in February 2022 will leave Ukrainian ports. Several ships have now entered the ports and left with grain, other agricultural goods or iron ore.
On the other hand, strikes against the Russian occupiers on the peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014, are also an instrument of psychological warfare. Kiev has repeatedly emphasized that Crimea is part of Ukraine and should be retaken. Russian President Vladimir Putin once had a big celebration for the occupation. The fact that his fleet now has to withdraw is likely to be a setback for him.
