Russia’s navy is curtailing its operations to the eastern Black Sea, according to a new assessment, following a run of Ukrainian strikes on Moscow’s key assets in the region.
“The Russian Navy has highly likely resorted to limiting its operations to the eastern Black Sea as its losses mount and its threat perceptions increase,” the UK’s Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine said.
“With Ukraine continuing to seek out opportunities to strike at distance, the Russian ministry of defence has been prompted to increase its efforts to preserve its fleet in the Black Sea.”
Amid these mounting losses, Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu stepped in to announce a new set of protective measures for his naval assets.
British Intelligence noted Shoigu’s recent visit was ultimately prompted by the Ukrainian military’s continued success in the Black Sea.
Shoigu visited the Black Sea Fleet’s command post in Crimea on March 17, to discuss the Ukrainian drone attacks and how Moscow can better protect its warships and infrastructure.
UK’s defence Intelligence said on Tuesday that Shoigu received updates on Ukrainian operations and discussed the performance of Russian naval assets in the region.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence he announced new measures for BSF units to mitigate the threat of uncrewed aerial vehicles and uncrewed surface vehicles.
Empasis was given to the conducting of daily anti-UAV/USV preparedness exercises to enable ship’s crews to quickly repel attacks during the day and at night.
Shoigu also ordered additional large-calibre weapons be fitted to unspecified assets to augment their defences.
