Ukraine restricts Russian Navy's freedom of manoeuvre in the Black Sea — British intelligence

Ukraine persists in limiting the freedom of maneuver of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea. In the past five weeks, Russia has encountered the loss of three warships in the region.

This was stated in the UK Ministry of Defence’s intelligence review dated March 6.

The Ministry highlighted that the corvette Sergei Kotov was sunk following an attack by Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence, utilizing Magura V5 surface drones. The review pointed out that these same drones targeted the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov on February 14.

«Sergei Kotov» was commissioned into the Black Sea Fleet just in July 2022. It had previously experienced surface drone attacks in July and September 2023, sustaining minor damage and returning shortly after both incidents.

«This marks the third ship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet to be sunk in the last five weeks. Likely in response to these losses, the Black Sea Fleet Commander, Admiral Viktor Sokolov, was dismissed on February 15, 2024», – stated the British Defence Ministry in its review.

The intelligence service emphasized that «Ukraine continues to restrict the freedom of maneuver of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea».

The day prior, the Defence Ministry’s Main Intelligence Directorate officially reported that the Ukrainian Magura V5 drones sank the Russian Black Sea Fleet patrol ship Sergei Kotov, resulting in the loss of at least seven crew members.