2024-07-29 21:51:16
In a rare acknowledgment of Russia’s military failures, Yevgeny Fyodorov, a spokesman for the ruling United Russia party, complained that Ukraine had dismantled so much of Putin’s cherished Black Sea fleet that it was essentially “gone.”
According to Dmytros Pletenchiuks, a former representative of the Ukrainian Navy, approximately one-third of the forces of the Black Sea Fleet, valued by V. Putin, were liquidated by Ukrainian forces.
Relentless Ukrainian attacks have forced Russia to move many of its warships from annexed Crimea to Novorossiysk in Russia’s Krasnodar Territory – and further east to the seaport of Feodosia on the annexed peninsula.
Anton Gerashchenko, former adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, shared a recording of Mr. Fyodorov’s remarks on the X social network on Sunday.
“The Russian fleet does not exist as an operational mechanism in the Black Sea!” Not physically, but in terms of actual combat presence. This is a fact,” said the State Duma deputy.
“Where is the fleet? He disappeared. This is truly a victory for the enemy. That’s a fact. That fact of the enemy’s victory. And the fact that the ships are still somewhere in Sevastopol or Novorossiysk, well, maybe they are. But they do not exist in the sense of a strategic combat unit. This means that they do not control the Black Sea,” Fyodorov continued.
“Did you understand? This is the fact of defeat. It’s a defeat. It must be accepted. As we accepted the defeat of Kherson, we surrendered Kherson. Kherson was ours,” he added, referring to Ukraine’s partially retaken southern Kherson region.
In an intelligence update on Monday, Britain’s Ministry of Defense noted that Ukraine had succeeded in knocking out the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
“According to the Ukrainian Navy, at least a third of Russia’s Black Sea fleet has been sunk, destroyed or damaged. And the rest of the Russian fleet was pushed to the east, fleeing from constant Ukrainian attacks,” the ministry said.
“Ukraine’s success is due in part to innovative naval technologies: their home-made Neptune anti-ship missiles, their home-made Sea Baby surface ship, their Magura V5 reusable surface ship,” the statement added.
In May, Ukraine’s Supreme Intelligence Directorate (HUR) said its Magura V5 maritime drones had caused $500 million worth of damage to Russian warships throughout the war. dollars. The Magura V5 drone is Ukraine’s “main and best weapon” that can be used to attack the Black Sea Fleet, HUR spokesman Andrijus Jusov said.
Putin was dealt another blow on Sunday as his navy staged a modest annual parade to mark Russia’s Navy Day. The main parade in Kronstadt was canceled and a smaller event was held in St. Petersburg on the Neva River.
For the first time, the parade was also not held in the Black Sea or Novorossiysk – “for security reasons”, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported.
2024-07-29 21:51:16