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Russia has based its Black Sea fleet in Crimea for 240 years. Now President Putin is at risk of losing the flagship naval hub as Ukraine steps up attacks in the occupied peninsula. The assaults have forced Russia to move its ships further from harm’s way, almost a decade after Putin annexed Crimea with the goal of preserving the fleet’s presence there.
Ukraine’s latest attack by a cruise missile claimed a large Russian landing ship at the eastern Crimean port of Feodosia on Tuesday. In all, Russia has lost at least 20 vessels since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Russia hasn’t commented on the location of its Black Sea fleet, though satellite images indicated vessels likely moved from Sevastopol following the strike on the headquarters. After this week’s attack in Feodosia, the fleet is now essentially reliant on Novorossiysk. Still, Ukrainian naval drones succeeded in destroying a large landing ship there in August, too. Russian plans to build a naval base further south along the Black Sea coast in Georgia’s Kremlin-backed separatist region of Abkhazia are expected to take several years.
Ukraine’s latest attack by a cruise missile claimed a large Russian landing ship at the eastern Crimean port of Feodosia on Tuesday. In all, Russia has lost at least 20 vessels since Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Russia hasn’t commented on the location of its Black Sea fleet, though satellite images indicated vessels likely moved from Sevastopol following the strike on the headquarters. After this week’s attack in Feodosia, the fleet is now essentially reliant on Novorossiysk. Still, Ukrainian naval drones succeeded in destroying a large landing ship there in August, too. Russian plans to build a naval base further south along the Black Sea coast in Georgia’s Kremlin-backed separatist region of Abkhazia are expected to take several years.
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