Ukraine claims to have pushed back Russia in the Black Sea.

VnExpress•17/11/2023

President Zelensky said the drone attacks gave Ukraine the upper hand and forced Russian forces to retreat in the Black Sea.

"For the first time in the world, a fleet of unmanned boats has begun operating in the Black Sea, and it is a Ukrainian force," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the summit of the Parliamentary Assembly for Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) on November 16.

Established in 1992, PABSEC is an international organization focused on multilateral political and economic initiatives aimed at enhancing cooperation, peace, stability, and prosperity in the Black Sea region. PABSEC has 13 members, including Russia and Ukraine.

Russian warships operate near the city of Sevastopol, Crimea, on February 16, 2022. Photo: Reuters — Russian warships operate near the city of Sevastopol, Crimea, on February 16, 2022. Photo: *Reuters*

According to Zelensky, Russia blockaded Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea after the conflict between the two countries broke out in late February last year, disrupting Kyiv's grain exports and affecting the global food market.

He stated that trade in the western Black Sea region has now been restored thanks to the operation of Ukrainian unmanned boats. "We have gained the upper hand in the Black Sea," the Ukrainian leader emphasized, adding that Russian ships in the area have had to retreat eastward.

"Russia can no longer use the Black Sea as a springboard for its operations," President Zelensky said.

Russia has not commented on the Ukrainian leader's statement.

The Crimean Peninsula, home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet, has recently been subjected to repeated attacks by drones, suicide boats, and missiles. Russia has also repeatedly reported preventing Ukrainian reconnaissance groups from infiltrating Crimea by speedboat or jet ski.

On November 11, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense released a video showing its suicide drones attacking two small landing craft belonging to the Russian Black Sea Fleet off the Crimean Peninsula, but did not disclose the extent of the damage.

Ukraine uses suicide boats to attack Russian landing craft in Crimea. — Suicide boats approach what is believed to be a Russian landing craft in a video released on November 11. Video: *Ukrainian Ministry of Defence*

On November 4, the Ukrainian military announced that it had launched a barrage of missiles targeting a shipyard in the city of Kerch in western Crimea, damaging the missile boat Askold, equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, beyond repair. The Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol had also been targeted by missiles earlier.

Satellite images from October showed that Russia had moved several Black Sea Fleet warships from Sevastopol to the port city of Novorossiysk, more than 300 km east of their previous location, seemingly to preserve forces against the threat of attack from Ukraine.

Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk confirmed this information on November 9, adding that the Kalibr missiles and ammunition loading equipment of the Black Sea Fleet are still being kept in Sevastopol.

According to Pletenchuk, the port of Novorossiysk can meet some basic fleet needs such as energy and supplies, but it lacks the equipment to load Kalibr missiles, rendering Russian ships unable to attack Ukraine with this weapon. Kalibr is a cruise missile often fired by Russian warships from the Black Sea to attack Ukrainian infrastructure, thanks to its range of up to 2,500 km.

Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula following a 2014 referendum. Moscow claims the referendum results showed that most Crimeans wanted to become part of Russia, but Kyiv and Western countries consider the move illegal. Ukraine has vowed to regain Crimea "at all costs," including military means.