The spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy stated yesterday that the last ship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet left the Crimean peninsula on July 15. The forced withdrawal was due to the extensive campaign by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to harass and destroy the means of the Russian Navy in the aforementioned territory occupied since 2014.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, the Navy spokesperson, confirmed the withdrawal of the last naval unit to The Kyiv Independent. On his Facebook account, Pletenchuk stated that “…The last patrol ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has just left our Crimea. Remember this day…”.
Regarding the recent withdrawal, the Ukrainian Navy spokesperson explained that “…Since they (Russia) have not been able to patrol for some time, the movement vector… We can assume that it is a transition between bases…(This movement) indicates that the Russians understand they must leave Crimea. At least (their) ships…”.
The Black Sea Fleet has been one of the main targets of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in their campaign to degrade the presence of Russian occupation forces in the Crimean peninsula. The Russian Navy was not only forced to abandon maritime spaces it had managed to control since February 2022, but it also suffered a slow but constant destruction of its infrastructure and means.
To harass the Black Sea Fleet, Ukraine used a wide variety of means: from land-launched anti-ship missiles, saturation attacks with aerial and naval drones, to attacks with Storm Shadow and SCALP EG cruise missiles. Special operations units also executed hand-to-hand strikes.
Among the most notable losses of the Black Sea Fleet are the cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Slava class; the Rostov-on-Don submarine of the Project 636.3 / Improved Kilo class; the corvettes Samum and Askold; the landing ships Caesar Kunikov, Novocherkassk, Saratov, and Minsk; as well as other smaller and support ships. An extensive list of damaged ships, many of which were put out of action, must also be added.
One of the most prominent means used by Ukraine has been naval drones, particularly the MAGURA (Maritime Autonomous Guard Unmanned Robotic Apparatus) family. Its latest version is the result of constant Ukrainian efforts in unmanned naval vehicles. The initiative managed to materialize various variants and models, which improved their capabilities and performances based on combat experiences.
Naval drones are a headache for Russian forces in the Black Sea thanks to the actions of GUR Group 13, a unit that claims to have destroyed more than half a dozen enemy warships, including the “Ivanovets”, the patrol ship “Serhii Kotov”, the frigate “Admiral Makarov”, the landing ship Caesar Kunikov, among others.
According to data held by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, since the start of the 2022 invasion, Russian ships have been repeatedly hit to the point that “…around 30% of the Russian Black Sea fleet is lost or rendered inoperative…”.
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