Ukraine’s continued attacks on Russian naval vessels in Crimea are clearly having an impact. At least ten ships described as powerful are said to have been brought to safety.
Russia has probably withdrawn ships from its Black Sea fleet from the occupied Crimean peninsula because of Ukraine’s continued missile attacks, according to US experts.
Satellite images from the beginning of October showed that at least ten ships had been relocated from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea to Novorossiysk in the Russian Krasnodar region, a good 300 kilometers away as the crow flies, the US Institute for War Studies (ISW) based in Washington wrote on Wednesday (local time).
The aim is apparently to protect the ships. The ISW also referred to a statement from the Russian think tank Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, which described the ship relocation as “routine”.
The relocation may only be temporary and Russia will most likely continue to use the Sevastopol naval base in Crimea, the ISW experts continued. A comparison of satellite images from the first three days of October showed that the ships withdrawn included the frigates “Admiral Makarov” and “Admiral Essen” as well as three diesel-powered submarines, five landing ships and various smaller rocket ships.
Newspaper: Partial deduction setback for Putin
The US newspaper “Wall Street Journal” also reported on the relocation, citing Western officials and US naval experts, and described the withdrawn ships as “powerful”. This partial withdrawal is a setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the newspaper. But the immediate military impact of the partial relocation would be limited because the ships could continue to fire cruise missiles at civilian infrastructure such as ports and power grids, the newspaper quoted naval experts as saying. The withdrawal is also a timely boost for Ukraine, as its counteroffensive is progressing more slowly than planned due to heavy losses and the politically unclear situation in the US Parliament.
Crimea, annexed by Russia since 2014, has been the target of increased Ukrainian attacks for weeks. Sevastopol in particular was attacked several times. Among other things, a landing ship, a submarine and the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet were severely damaged. The aim of the attacks is to reduce the operational capability of the fleet. This plays an important role in Russia’s war of aggression. Russian naval ships regularly fire missiles at civilian targets in Ukraine. The country has been defending itself against the war of aggression started by Russia since February 24, 2022 and is supported by Western states, especially the USA.
Source: Stern
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