According to British assessments, Russia’s Black Sea Fleet remains operational despite the recent attacks. Ukraine had attacked the fleet several times in recent weeks, including its headquarters in the port city of Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow.
“These attacks caused more damage and were more coordinated than previously in the war,” wrote the British Ministry of Defense in its daily update on the short message service X. The physical damage was almost certainly extensive, but localized.
“The fleet almost certainly remains capable of carrying out its core wartime missions of cruise missile strikes and local security patrols,” the ministry wrote. However, the British believe it is possible that the fleet now has less capacity to continue patrols and maintain the blockade of Ukrainian ports, defend its own facilities in the port and carry out routine maintenance work.
According to Ukrainian information, the commander was killed along with numerous officers in the attack on the fleet headquarters on Friday. The British did not provide any information about this in their post on X. There is no confirmation from the Russian side of the admiral’s death.
The British Ministry of Defense has been publishing daily information on the course of the war since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Moscow accuses London of disinformation.
