Putin’s ‘Fierce’ Navy Stranded in Hiding After Major Attack
By Marcel Plichta
So much for the formidable Russian fleet.
The Russian Navy is still sheltering in its base in Crimea after a sweeping Ukrainian drone attack last week.
On Oct. 29, Ukraine launched 16 air and naval drones at Russian ships in the bay of Sevastopol, causing damage to at least one ship and leading Russia to temporarily pull out of the lauded grain export deal in retaliation. According to a recent analysis by the U.S. Naval Institute, Russia’s fleet in the Black Sea has been timid since the attack, which is the latest in a series of setbacks since the invasion in February.
Russia’s Black Sea Fleet dwarfs the remnants of the Ukrainian Navy and should by all accounts be able to launch missiles and amphibious landings off Ukrainian shores with relative impunity. But for all their strength on paper, the Russian navy has gone from disaster to disaster since the start of the war.
In March, Ukraine hit a Russian landing ship in the port of Berdyansk with a ballistic missile, forcing the crew to scuttle the vessel. Ukrainian forces also sank the Russian flagship Moskva with two anti-ship missiles in mid-April. While not as spectacular as sinking a flagship, Ukrainian missiles and drones destroyed smaller Russian naval vessels throughout the conflict.
Russia has a large navy, but its losses in the Black Sea are difficult to replace.
more:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/vladimir-putins-fierce-russian-navy-stranded-in-hiding-after-black-sea-attack?
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