Last Russian patrol ship left occupied Crimea, Ukraine's navy says
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The last patrol ship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet left occupied Crimea on July 15, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, confirmed to the Kyiv Independent.
"The last patrol ship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet is just now leaving our Crimea. Remember this day," Pletenchuk wrote on Facebook.
The vessel's designation was Project 1135, he said. This patrol ship is not a carrier of cruise missiles, which Russia is using to attack Ukraine, but is equipped with other weapons, Pletenchuk told the Kyiv Independent.
One of the two such vessels departed from Crimea "a long time ago," and the other left occupied Sevastopol on July 15, he added.
"Given that they (Russia) have not been able to patrol for a while, the movement vector... We can assume that this is a transition between bases," Pletenchuk said.
"(This move) indicates the Russians' understanding that they must leave Crimea. At least (their) ships."
Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military.
Successful Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea forced Moscow to pull out much of its naval forces from the peninsula to the Russian port city of Novorossiysk which became a key port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
“The Russian Navy's sphere of influence in the Black Sea has been significantly reduced, and the whole world can see this today,” Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (HUR) told the Kyiv Independent earlier this month.
