New Black Sea port

Constant Ukrainian attacks: Kremlin relocates fleet

The naval base can be seen on satellite images.

(Bild: Google Maps)

Ukraine is repeatedly attacking the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. As recently as Monday night, a Ukrainian special forces unit sank a speedboat with a naval drone. Russia has stationed large ships far away from Crimea because of such attacks. The latest retreat could be a port in Georgia.

New satellite images published by the news magazine "Newsweek" document the construction of a port in Ochamchire, a coastal town in the region of Abkhazia, which has broken away from Georgia and is allied with Russia. Last October, Abkhazia announced an agreement with the regime in Moscow on the construction of a new Russian naval base, which was finally signed in January.

800 kilometers from Sevastopol
The newly built port could be a new haven for the Russian Black Sea Fleet. A long time ago, Russia was forced to move large warships from the port city of Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean peninsula to other ports, to Novorossiysk, due to constant Ukrainian attacks. In Ochamchire, around 800 kilometers from Sevastopol, the fleet would possibly be even better protected from attacks by Kiev troops (see map below).

However, it is unclear whether the port in Abkhazia can really accommodate the remains of the severely decimated Black Sea fleet. According to the pro-Russian administration in the region, the naval base is large enough for this. However, Andrii Ryzhenko, a retired Ukrainian naval captain and security expert, doubted this in an interview with "Newsweek". There have been "not many changes" at the port where the naval base was to be built in the past six months. Only small ships are currently anchored there.

Ukrainian attacks still possible
Ryschenko warns against overestimating the role of the naval base. What this role will be will only become clear after completion. In any case, attacks on Ukrainian territory would also be possible from there: Russia can send corvettes equipped with long-range Kalibr missiles to attack Ukrainian territory "and then return to the safety of the naval base," military expert Glen Howard is quoted as saying by Newsweek. Conversely, a Ukrainian attack on the Russian base in Abkhazia is also possible: the Ukrainian Marichka submarine drone has a range of up to 1000 kilometers.

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Fotos

The most recent attack on a Russian boat off the coast of Crimea was carried out using a Magura maritime drone, as announced by the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR on Monday. A speedboat with Russian invaders on board was destroyed during a successful mission, it said. The HUR published a video of the attack (see below).

Several warships have already been sunk with drones
As the fear of Ukrainian attacks is forcing the occupying forces to keep large ships of the Black Sea Fleet as far away from Crimea as possible, Russia is continuing combat operations with fast maneuvering warships, the HUR explained. So far, five ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet - including the "Caesar Kunikov " - have already been destroyed by Magura attacks, and another has been damaged.