Ukraine declares to push back Russia in the Black Sea

President Zelenksy said 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 Ukrainian forces," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the summit of the Parliamentary Council for Black Sea Economic Cooperation (PABSEC) on November 16.

PABSEC, founded in 1992, 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 Mr. Zelensky, Russia has blockaded Ukrainian ports in the Black Sea after the conflict between the two countries broke out in late February last year, disrupting Kiev's grain exports and affecting the global food market.

He said that trade in the western part of the Black Sea had now been cleared thanks to the operation of Ukrainian unmanned boats. "We have gained superiority in the Black Sea," the Ukrainian leader stressed, adding that Russian ships in the area had retreated east.

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

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

The Crimean Peninsula, home to Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, has been repeatedly attacked by drones, suicide boats and missiles. Russia has also repeatedly announced that it was blocking Ukrainian reconnaissance groups from entering Crimea by speedboat or jet ski.

On November 11, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry released a video showing the country's suicide drone boat attacking two small landing ships of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean peninsula, but did not disclose the damage involved.

Ukraine uses suicide boats to attack Russian landing ship in Crimea — Suicide boat approaches target believed to be Russian landing ship in video released on November 11. Video: *Ukrainian Ministry of Defense*

The Ukrainian military announced on November 4 that it had launched a series of missiles at a shipyard in the city of Kerch in western Crimea, damaging the missile ship Askold, equipped with Kalibr cruise missiles, "beyond repair." The Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the city of Sevastopol was also previously hit by a missile attack.

Satellite images in October showed that Russia had moved many of its Black Sea Fleet warships in Sevastopol to the port city of Novorossiysk, more than 300 km east of their original location, apparently to preserve forces against the threat of a Ukrainian attack.

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

The port of Novorossiysk can meet some of the fleet’s basic needs, such as fuel and supplies, but it does not have the equipment to load Kalibr missiles, which means Russian ships can no longer attack Ukraine with these weapons, Pletenchuk said. Kalibr is a type of cruise missile that Russian warships often launch from the Black Sea to attack Ukrainian infrastructure, thanks to its range of up to 2,500 kilometers.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula after a referendum in 2014. Moscow said the results showed most Crimeans wanted to become part of Russia, but Kiev and Western countries viewed the move as illegal. Ukraine has said it will take back Crimea "at all costs", including military means.