Ukraine claims sinking of Black Sea fleet ‘Cesari Kunikov’… Russia is silent
CNN: “Ukraine has the upper hand in the Black Sea due to technological innovation, boldness, and Russian incompetence”
Russian military blogger: “Black Sea fleet is incompetent… cannot stop Ukraine attack”
The Russian military’s incompetence was pointed out as the reason why the Ukrainian military was able to sink the large Russian amphibious landing ship ‘Cesary Kunikov’ in the Black Sea on the 14th (local time).
On this day, CNN pointed out that Russia did not issue an official comment on the fact that the Ukrainian Intelligence Service (GUR) sank the Black Sea Fleet Tsezary Kunikov.
“Ukraine has virtually no navy of its own, but technological innovation, boldness, and Russian incompetence give it the upper hand in most of the Black Sea,” the media said. “Ukraine currently has Russian naval vessels in the region, equivalent to a third of Russia’s entire Black Sea fleet.” “More than 20 ships were destroyed or disabled,” he analyzed.
This operation was carried out by ‘Group 13’, a special operations unit under GUR, using the ‘MAGURA (Maritime Autonomous Security Unmanned Robot Device) V5’ maritime drone.
The sinking of the Russian corvette Ivanovets off the coast of the Krum Peninsula on the 5th was also a feat they achieved in the same way. The Russians failed to block the approach of six explosive-laden Magura ships, and she was eventually sunk.
Magura, about 5 meters long, is an unmanned ship with a range of 450 nautical miles (833.4 km). It can load up to 320kg of explosives, etc. Ukraine is using Magura loaded with explosives to neutralize Russian ships.
Criticism has continued to arise within Russia for not taking appropriate measures to prevent their access. Russian military blogger Lebari said, “The Black Sea Fleet continues to be incompetent. “We cannot stop the attack by the Ukrainian fleet,” he added bitterly.
Thanks to Ukraine’s expertise in the Black Sea, it has secured a maritime route for grain exports from Black Sea ports, including Odessa. From the perspective of Ukraine, which has run out of financial revenue due to enormous military spending, sea-based grain exports are like a ‘sweet rain’ after the Black Sea Grain Export Agreement expired in July of last year.
A high-ranking Ukrainian official announced on this day, “From July 1st of last year to present, grain exports have amounted to 25.5 million tons.” In response to this, the Ukrainian agricultural community welcomed the fact that grain exports had recovered close to pre-war levels.
Russia, which refused to renew the Black Sea Grain Agreement, threatened to sink Ukraine at sea if it attempted to export grain by sea. However, as the Ukrainian military caused great damage to the Russian Black Sea Fleet by mobilizing unmanned aerial vehicles (drones), Russian ships rarely advanced to the west, closer to the Ukrainian camp. In addition, some of the ships in the port of Sevastopol on the Krum Peninsula, which was forcibly annexed in 2014 and continue to be occupied, were further transferred to the Russian camp.
Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Plettenchuk told CNN on this day, “Russian ships are currently forced to stay at the Novorossiysk base in the eastern Black Sea. “Even in Sochi, ships are being pressured to spread out,” he explained.
He continued, “It is also difficult to operate cruise missile carriers that will attack Ukrainian territory. “This is because logistics remain at the main naval base in Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula,” he said. “When Russia began its invasion, it had 13 amphibious ships in the Black Sea, but now only 5 are operational.”
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.