Ukraine Navy Chief: Russia is Losing Key Crimean Hub in Black Sea, Reports Reuters

By Tom Balmforth

ODESA, Ukraine – The Russian navy’s Black Sea Fleet has had to relocate nearly all of its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea to other locations, rendering its primary naval hub ineffective due to ongoing attacks by Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s navy chief.

Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa commented that Ukrainian missile and naval drone strikes have inflicted substantial damage on the Sevastopol base, which has historically served as a logistics center for repairs, maintenance, training, and ammunition storage among other critical operations for Russia.

"They were established over many decades, possibly centuries. And clearly, they are losing this hub," Neizhpapa stated in an interview in Odesa, ahead of Ukraine Navy Day on Sunday.

More than 28 months into Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine has delivered significant blows to Moscow in the Black Sea, although its ground forces are currently facing challenges across a vast front.

Despite lacking major warships, Ukraine has effectively utilized uncrewed naval boats laden with explosives to target Russian vessels and has bombarded the fleet’s facilities and other military sites in Crimea using Storm Shadow and ATACM missiles.

"The majority of the main combat-ready ships have been moved by the enemy from the primary base of the Black Sea Fleet, with some being kept in Novorossiisk, and others in the Sea of Azov," he explained.

Novorossiisk naval base, situated on Russia’s eastern Black Sea coast, is not equipped with the extensive capabilities of Crimea’s Sevastopol, which has been a crucial site for storing and loading cruise missiles used by Russian warships to conduct air strikes on Ukraine, according to Neizhpapa.

"I understand they are now trying to address this issue in Novorossiisk," he described it as the fleet’s "main issue."

The Russian defense ministry has not commented on Neizhpapa’s remarks.

President Vladimir Putin recently assured navy officials that Russia’s fleet has been replenished in recent years and that a major modernization initiative is underway to enhance the fleet’s combat readiness.

In conjunction with strategic bombers and land-based launchers, missile-carrying warships and submarines are key players in Russia’s routine long-range missile assaults.

Neizhpapa reported that Ukraine has destroyed or damaged 27 naval vessels, including five claimed to have been destroyed by sea mines placed by Ukrainian naval drones around the Bay of Sevastopol.

Since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014, the Black Sea Fleet, comprising dozens of warships, has been instrumental in projecting Russian power into the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Throughout the ongoing conflict, Turkey, controlling the straits to and from the Black Sea, has prohibited warships from entering or exiting.

DEFENSIVE POSTURE

Signaling a shift to a more defensive stance, Russian warships that rarely entered the Sea of Azov are now routinely stationed there. Data from the Ukrainian Navy indicates that as of June 27, there were 10 Russian warships in the Sea of Azov, compared to none earlier this year.

The Black Sea Fleet is primarily tasked with logistics, limited coastal territorial control, and firing Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukraine, Neizhpapa noted.

While he refrained from discussing Ukraine’s future plans in the Black Sea, he emphasized that Ukraine’s operations have enabled it to establish and secure its own shipping corridor, particularly after Russia withdrew from a wartime food export agreement facilitated by the United Nations last year.

The Ukrainian pushback began with coastal defenses that successfully forced naval vessels away. In April 2022, Ukrainian anti-ship missiles sank the Moskva, the flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, delivering a significant blow to the Kremlin.

With increased naval drone attacks and strikes, Russian warships now avoid entering a 25,000 square kilometer (9,650 square mile) area in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Neizhpapa stated.

He mentioned the upcoming delivery of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets, which is expected to enhance Ukraine’s capabilities to contest what he termed Russia’s "full dominance" in the Black Sea airspace.

"F-16s, equipped with the right armaments, will be capable of pushing Russian warplanes away, making the northwestern part of the Black Sea, particularly the corridor for civilian vessels, nearly 100% secure," he asserted.

Neizhpapa expressed a desire for Ukraine to broaden its shipping corridor, which currently accommodates traffic from just three main ports in Odesa, to also include the ports of Mykolaiv and Kherson. However, he pointed out that this expansion is hindered by Russian control over the Kinburn Spit along that route.

Civilian vessels in certain areas are accompanied by patrol boats for protection against mines, with air defenses providing cover for both the ports and the shipping corridors. Over the past six months, the volume of cargo traveling through the corridor has stabilized, with Ukraine operating two daily convoys compared to one in 2023.