UK Defense Ministry: Russia to move cruise missile-carrying ships to Azov Sea
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Russia will move eight warships, including three Karakurt class corvettes capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles, to the Azov Sea, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on July 7.
The warships will be commanded by Russia’s newly created Azov Naval District headquartered in the occupied Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, the ministry wrote in its latest intelligence update.
Russia reportedly established the district, subordinate to the Black Sea Fleet, on July 1.
According to the ministry, it will likely focus on logistical and counter-partisan missions, enabling the Black Sea Fleet to concentrate on long-range strike operations and extending its naval power further abroad.
“The Azov Sea is a vital maritime area for Russia because it links its inland waterways to international maritime routes,” reads the report. “In the context of the war, it also offers an alternative military resupply option should Russia’s over-land routes to southern Ukraine be disrupted.”
In its previous intelligence update, the U.K. Defense Ministry wrote that Russia had redeployed its military units from strategic Russian regions to counter Ukraine’s large-scale counteroffensive.
