After recent Ukrainian strikes on the Kremlin’s Black Sea naval fleet in Sevastopol caused severe damage to Russian ships and destroyed an S-400 air defense system in the temporarily occupied Yevpatoria, the Russians are increasingly deploying their ships out of the port for the relative safety of the open water.
According to the head of the joint coordination press center of Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, Natalia Gumenyuk, the Russian fleet has become “restless in the bays.”
“We see that they are deploying their ships in wide formations at sea,” said Gumenyuk in a YouTube post on Sept. 15.
She said by using more dispersed ship formations, the Russians are attempting to increase the space for maneuvers and allow Russian naval forces to increase its footprint on the Black Sea.
“They are [leaving port for the open] Black Sea, to get more space for freedom of movement because they know that in the tight conditions of the bay it will be impossible to maneuver and defeat is more likely,” Gumenyuk explains.
The Russian naval group is estimated to have 17 major vessels, with 16 ships in the Black Sea and 1 ship in the Azov Sea.
The Russian ship Cyclone, a newly launched surface-to-surface missile carrier, is thought to have launched missiles from the Black Sea, but Ukrainian defense forces have not confirmed this information.
The Cyclone is capable of launching a salvo of eight Kalibr missiles on targets in Ukraine from its station in the open Black Sea.
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Gumenyuk said that the Russian naval forces continue to threaten civilian vessels, as evidenced by radio intercepts and enemy attempts to land on merchant ships.
“We are also seeing a very large amount of tactical aviation activity, particularly between the Crimea and Snake Island, including aggressive attacks such as employing guided weapons along sea transport routes," she added.
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