What's Left Of The Russian Black Sea Fleet Is Trapped In Southern Russia
Ukraine hasn't sunk a Russian ship in two years, but that doesn't mean it's not winning the Black Sea naval war
Two months after attacking a Russian submarine with its own robot sub, Ukraine has launched another wave of attacks on the port of Novorossiysk
The port in southern Russia is the last refuge of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has lost several ships to Ukrainian strikes
Now Ukraine is attacking Novorossiysk from the air
Damage is limited so far, but more attacks are surely coming as Kyiv aims to finish off the battered Russian fleet
Relentlessly hammered by Ukrainian missiles, aerial drones and drone boats, what’s left of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has retreated from its former home ports in Russian-occupied Crimea and, instead, has sheltered in the port of Novorossiysk in southern Russia, 360 km from the front line in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian drones have followed the Russian vessels all the way there. Attacking from the air, the surface and below the surface, Ukraine’s unmanned strike force is trying to finish off the Black Sea Fleet. The damage has been moderate in recent months. But expect the Ukrainians to keep attacking.
The most recent Ukrainian raid on Novorossiysk may also have been one of the biggest. On the night of March 1-2, potentially hundreds of Ukrainian aerial drones swarmed the port, targeting at least eight warships tied up to the port’s piers.
The targets included:
two Project 12700 seagoing minesweepers;
two Project 266 seagoing minesweepers;
two Project 1124 anti-submarine ships and
two Project 11356 frigates.
