Russian ships have not sailed into the Black Sea for four months now

For the fourth month in a row, Russian warships have not left their harbors in the Black Sea. However, Russia continues to use aircraft and drones, so Ukraine is also unable to fully control the waters.

  Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, spoke about this on the “We Are Ukraine” program.

According to him, the situation in the Black and Azov Seas can currently be described as a “large gray zone.” Russian ships are not going out to sea, but aircraft and drones continue to operate in the air.

Pletenchuk noted that Russia is also unable to use its ports at full capacity. He said this year’s campaign effectively began at the start of the year, when the Russian military attempted to impose yet another naval blockade on Ukraine.

To this end, Russia used ballistic missiles and carried out strikes against ships. Pletenchuk emphasized that the Russian side should have understood the possibility of a Ukrainian response.

He also drew attention to the consequences for the Russian economy. Specifically, this concerns the ports used for the export of agricultural products and petroleum products. Among them is Novorossiysk, which the spokesperson called Russia’s largest port and the country’s only major ice-free port.

Despite Russian attacks, Ukrainian ports continue to operate. Ukraine has lost its ports in Crimea and on the Sea of Azov, while the ports of Mykolaiv and Kherson remain blocked. In contrast, the ports of Greater Odesa continue to serve ships.

According to Pletenchuk, Russia has failed to completely destroy Ukraine’s port infrastructure during the years of full-scale war.

At the same time, the situation has been complicated by attacks on civilian vessels, which the Russian military began carrying out this year. As a result, according to the Navy spokesperson, operations along the Ukrainian maritime corridor have become more difficult.

Ірина Глухова