Russian Black Sea Fleet Lost Third of Its Firepower Since War Began: Kyiv

Isabel van Brugen

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Russia's Black Sea Fleet has lost a third of its firepower since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, Kyiv has said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications (StratCom) reported on Tuesday that Kyiv's forces have so far "disabled" about 33 percent of the fleet's warships in the conflict.

The Black Sea Fleet has been targeted by Ukraine as it seeks to reverse Russian President Vladimir Putin's 2014 annexation of Crimea. The region serves as Moscow's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine.

"According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, our military disabled 24 Russian ships and one submarine," it said in a post on Telegram.

"According to data from open sources, as of the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation consisted of 74 warships," StratCom added. "Aggression against Ukraine is harmful to your fleet."

Multiple casualties have been sustained by Russia's Black Sea Fleet throughout the war. Its flagship, Moskva, was attacked and sunk in April 2022. In September 2023, a missile attack by Ukraine on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol reportedly killed a number of leading officers and destroyed a Russian submarine.

At least 37 Russian sailors were reportedly killed when Kyiv destroyed the landing ship Novocherkassk in December.

Independent Russian news outlet The Insider reported on February 2 that at least 26 Russian vessels have been attacked by Kyiv's forces since the war began. And in late December, British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said Russia had lost a fifth of its Black Sea fleet in the previous four months.

The most recent reported loss was a Russian missile-armed corvette, the Ivanovets, which Ukraine said it had destroyed with seaborne drones near annexed Crimea.

Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, told The War Zone that Ukraine's forces struck the Ivanovets with six MAGURA V5 sea drones that "sent it to the bottom of the Black Sea."

Ukraine's Defense Ministry said the operation was carried out by soldiers of its Group 13 special forces.

"During the destruction of the specified ship, six direct hits by naval drones were made to the hull of the ship. As a result of the damage, the ship rolled astern and sank. According to preliminary data, the search-and-rescue operation conducted by the enemy was not successful," Budanov added.