Since September 2022, Ukraine has used naval kamikaze drones to target the Russian Black Sea Fleet, destroying several vessels. The latest strike sank a Mangust-class patrol boat off the coast of occupied Crimea using a domestically produced Magura drone.
The Biden administration reportedly didn't want Ukraine to attack "a potent symbol of Russian power."
The Moskva sank on April 14, 2022, after being struck by two Ukrainian R-360 Neptune anti-ship missiles. The attack marked one of Kyiv’s most significant early victories in the full-scale war and dealt a major blow to Russia’s Black Sea fleet.
The White House on March 25 announced that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to "eliminate the use of force" in the Black Sea, returning the spotlight to a theater of battle that has been relatively quiet for more than a year. Throughout 2022 and 2023, Ukrainian strikes against Russian ships,
The exercises are aimed at deepening "the mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation between the participating countries' armies," the Chinese Defense Ministry said.
The naval base — which has been under discussion since 2017 — would give Moscow access to the Red Sea, one of the world’s most strategically important waterways.
A "large amount" of Russian military equipment vanished from the Syrian port of Tartus with the departure of the Russian cargo ship Sparta II, an investigative journalist at Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Mark Krutov, said on Jan. 27, citing satellite images.
Sweden will increase its military presence in the Baltic Sea through the deployment of three warships and a radar reconnaissance aircraft in response to the suspected sabotage of several underwater cables, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said on Jan. 12.
"The Russians have a systemic problem. It is quite expectedly reflected in the general condition of their fleet," Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said on Dec. 24.
The comments came shortly after a Russian warship fired a warning shot at a German military helicopter patrolling the Baltic Sea.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) on Nov. 19 announced the detention of two residents of Russian-occupied Crimea in connection with a car bombing in Sevastopol on Nov. 13 that killed Russian Navy officer Valery Trankovsky.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said that if Russia deploys several cruise missile carriers to the sea, it does not mean they will be used for an attack.
Lithuania announced this week it had blocked and fortified a bridge over the Nieman River linking it to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, the latest in a series of escalations in the Baltic Sea region. Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine exacerbated fears of a potential open conflict between Moscow and
Key developments on Oct. 7: * Russian Baltic Sea Fleet vessel out of action after Ukraine's sabotage, intelligence says * Ukraine's 3rd Brigade frees captured soldiers in Kharkiv Oblast skirmish * Oil depot on fire in Crimea's Feodosia following Ukrainian attack * Russian airstrike against Kherson injures 20, including children * Kyiv's air defense intercepts
Russian regional authorities claimed on Sept. 11 that Murmansk Oblast behind the Arctic Circle came under a drone attack, necessitating temporary flight restrictions.
The Russian Navy has started the naval exercise Ocean-2024, which will take place on five seas and test operational readiness and the use of high-precision weapons, among other objectives, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Sept. 10.
The alleged plans, drawn up between 2008 and 2014, include lists of targets for missiles that can carry both conventional warheads and tactical nuclear weapons.
The Russian navy began scheduled exercises involving a significant portion of its fleet, including 20,000 personnel and 300 ships, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on July 30.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ukrainian Armed Forces were responsible for a drone attack that successfully targeted a Russian coastal defense base in Crimea overnight, a source in the intelligence services told the Kyiv Independent on July 18.
The vessel's designation was Project 1135, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, told the Kyiv Independent. This patrol ship is not a carrier of cruise missiles, which Russia is using to attack Ukraine, but is equipped with the other weapons, he added.
The news comes days after NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on July 11 said that China is a "decisive enabler" of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The crew of the deep-sea vehicle AS-36's carrier, the rescue ship of Russia's Northern Fleet Mikhail Rudnitsky, "lost control" while launching AS-36 on July 1, Ukraine's military intelligence said.
Key developments on July 3: * Shopping center hit in Russian attack on Dnipro, killing 5, injuring 53 * Russian defector involved in Russia's Baltic Fleet vessel sabotage, military intelligence says * Zelensky says Trump should reveal plan on ending Russia's war * US announces new defense aid package for Ukraine worth $150 million
The Russian missile ship Serpukhov was set on fire on April 8 while docked off the city of Kaliningrad. The sabotage completely destroyed its communication and automation systems, necessitating lengthy repairs, military intelligence said.
The frigate Admiral Gorshkov and the replenishment tanker Akademik Pashin were part of a small fleet of vessels that arrived in Cuba last month, along with a tugboat and a nuclear-powered submarine.
Sources said that the U.S. was "aware" of the submarines' presence in the Irish Sea, but the U.K. Defense Ministry said it "doesn't comment on operations." The Irish Defense Department also declined to comment.
Around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet had been destroyed as of December 2023, according to the Ukrainian military.
HUR initially reported only two boats had been hit during the attack in Vuzka Bay, which lies at the Chornomorske town on Crimea's western coast.
Officials from both Cuba and the U.S. have said none of the vessels are carrying nuclear weapons, Reuters reports.
Russian anti-submarine ship Admiral Levchenko is burning in the Barents Sea after an engine malfunctioned and caught fire, Dmytro Pletenchuk, press chief for the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said on June 10.
Russian warships are being tracked on their way to the Caribbean, U.S. officials said on June 5, adding they had not been notified in advance by the Kremlin of the military activity.
Naval drones operated by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) hit two Russian patrol boats, likely of the KS-701 Tunets model, in occupied Crimea overnight on May 30, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.
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