What’s going on with the Black Sea Fleet, once the pride of the Russian Navy? Nearly two months after the grievous loss of the flagship Moskva, the warships continue to fire cruise missiles deep into Ukraine. Moscow also deploys the fleet to blockade Ukrainian ports. But after 106 days of war, the navy has to be careful.
The main reason: the arrival of the American anti-ship missile Harpoon. Last week, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov announced that the first missiles, supplied by Denmark, had arrived. With the Harpoon skimming low over the water at a speed of about 500 miles, Kyiv has acquired a weapon that poses a significant threat to the 20 ships of the Black Sea fleet.
Fired from the coast, Ukrainian coastal defenses can now target Russian ships up to an estimated 200 kilometers away. The Ukrainian army already had its own Neptune cruise missile. To the surprise of the West and Russia, this was used with great success in April to take out the cruiser Moskva. If the Neptune was already so deadly effective, they must be thinking these days in Moscow, how great must be the danger posed by the Harpoon high-tech missile used by many Western navies?
to sink
“Other ships will follow the cruiser Moskva to the bottom of the Black Sea,” Reznikov’s ministry warned on Facebook over a threatening video of Harpoons being launched. The Ukrainian army in Odesa, the port city hit hard by the blockade, also used harsh language to warn the Russians. “We have now received so many Harpoons that we can sink the entire Black Sea fleet,” military spokesman Serhi Bratchuk said. ‘Why not?’
Ukraine’s navy reported Monday that Russian ships deployed in the blockade of ports are operating more than 100 kilometers from the coast. Due to the greater Ukrainian threat, the Russians are also said to have modified their tactics in the Black Sea.
The navy would also rely more on the missile defense systems in Crimea and occupied Kherson for fleet protection than on the missiles on the ships. “The Ukrainian navy is defying Russian dominance over the northwestern part of the Black Sea,” concluded the American think tank Institute for the Study of War.
New Humiliation
To prevent a repeat of the situation with the Moskva, which was badly damaged and sank, the Russians are also said to have taken makeshift measures to protect their ships. For example, a photo of a patrol ship that left the port of Sevastopol on Sunday would show that an additional anti-aircraft system was chained to the helicopter deck. This antiaircraft weapon, the SA-15, normally operates on land to shoot down planes, drones and missiles.
Another sign that the Black Sea fleet is indeed afraid of the Harpoon missiles is that Moscow is increasingly relying on the six submarines in the area to attack targets in Ukraine. For these attacks with Kalibr cruise missiles, mainly the surface ships of the fleet were used from the start of the invasion.
The Kremlin cannot afford another humiliation in the Black Sea. The sinking of the Moskva was the Russians’ worst naval loss since World War II. In addition to the flagship, the Russian Navy also had to watch as nine smaller ships and craft were destroyed. This mainly concerns patrol boats and landing craft.
Disable fleet
For example, a video shows how two boats are attacked by a Bayraktar drone, which was supplied by Turkey before the invasion, near the Russian-occupied Snake Island. Before the attack on the Moskva, Moscow also had to watch as a number of ships and craft were bombarded with a rocket in the port of Berdyansk in March. The landing ship Saratov, which was carrying military equipment, was heavily hit, according to a video. Then two other vessels, which are used for amphibious operations, can be seen sailing away quickly.
The delivery of the Harpoons has resulted in Ukraine now being encouraged, including in the West, to forcibly end the Russian naval blockade. “The Harpoons can make life hell for the Black Sea fleet,” said the well-known columnist for The Washington Post, Max Boot. “But Ukraine needs more weapons before it can send ships from Odesa again.”
Swedish economist and Russia expert Anders Aslund, who once advised the government of Russian President Boris Yeltsin, even advocates a tough approach. “The West must provide Ukraine with long-range anti-ship missiles to take out the Black Sea fleet,” Aslund tweeted. It is time for the West to end the Russian blockade of Ukrainian ports on the Black Sea. Do what it takes!’