Russia's Black Sea Fleet Now 'Functionally Inactive' After Losses: UK
Source: Newsweek
Published Mar 25, 2024 at 6:03 AM EDT | Updated Mar 25, 2024 at 10:09 AM EDT
Commenting after the latest Ukrainian strikes on the Crimean port city of Sevastopol, the British defense minister has said Russia's Black Sea Fleet has been rendered "functionally inactive."
Grant Shapps shared a post on X, formerly Twitter, by the Ukrainian defense ministry claiming responsibility for missile strikes on Sevastopol on Sunday.
Open-source intelligence accounts suggested British-provided Storm Shadow missiles were used in the strikes while Russian milbloggers says Neptune missiles, ADM-160 decoy missiles, and drones were used. Ukrainian military intelligence said damage to the Russian vessel Yamal is critical and that "a breach in the upper deck caused the ship to list to starboard."
Ropucha-class landing ships Yamal and Azov were struck as were the fleet's communications center and other infrastructure facilities in the latest attack. Kyiv boasted about "great news" in the Ukrainian defense ministry post that ended, "Bravo! Crimea is Ukraine!" Next to the shared post, Shapps wrote, "Putin's continued illegal occupation of Ukraine is exacting a massive cost on Russia's Black Sea Fleet which is now functionally inactive
Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/russia-black-sea-fleet-putin-shapps-1882902