Ukrainian Navy Commander: Russia is losing its Black Sea hub in Crimea

On July 5, the commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Nezhpapa, said that the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet has been forced to redeploy almost all of its combat-ready warships from the Crimea region to other locations, and its main naval hub is losing its role due to attacks from Kyiv. He said that Ukrainian missile and naval drone strikes caused serious damage to the Sevastopol base. The Sevastopol base is a logistics center in Russia that is responsible for important functions such as repair, maintenance, training, and ammunition storage. He said that Russia’s Novorossiysk naval base, located on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, lacks facilities like Sevastopol. “I understand that they are now trying to solve this problem in Novorossiysk,” he said, adding that this is a “major problem” for the fleet. He refused to say what Ukraine’s future plans in the Black Sea would involve.