Ukraine knocks out Russia Black Sea operations

 Business Insider:

The UK's defense ministry declared Russia's Black Sea Fleet "functionally inactive" after Ukraine claimed to have struck another two of its ships.

UK Defence Minister Grant Shapps wrote on Sunday that Ukrainian attacks are taking a "massive" toll on the Russian fleet, in a post that appeared to confirm a pair of strikes Ukraine announced on Sunday.

"Russia has sailed the Black Sea since 1783 but is now forced to constrain its fleet to port," Shapps wrote. "And even there Putin's ships are sinking!"
...

Earlier on Sunday, Ukraine announced that it had struck two large landing vessels in the port of Sevastopol, in Crimea. Some sources said the missiles used to hit the Yamal and Azov were likely UK-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

The Yamal sustained critical damage to part of its upper deck and is taking on water, Ukraine's Defense Intelligence claimed on Monday.

A communications center and several infrastructure buildings in Sevastopol were also hit, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said.

The extent of the damage to the Azov is not immediately clear.

According to The Telegraph, each ship would cost about $215 million to replace with modern equivalents.

The strikes are the latest in a long string of Ukrainian attacks that have significantly curtailed Russia's naval activity in the Black Sea.
...

Russia is having difficulty dealing with what should be an inferior force from Ukraine. If the Russians are having this kind of trouble with Ukraine, imagine how much trouble they would have with NATO or US forces.

See also:

Belmont Club: Is the Black Sea Fleet Still a Factor?

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