Russia is using several barges to protect its Black Sea fleet based at the port of Novorossiysk, according to new analysis, after Kyiv forced Moscow to relocate many of its assets away from annexed peninsula Crimea and its base at the city of Sevastopol.
Moscow is using four barges to guard the entrance to its Black Sea fleet base at Novorossiysk to strengthen the port’s defenses against Ukrainian naval drones, the British Defense Ministry said on Sunday.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
Russia has taken bruising losses to its Black Sea fleet at Ukraine’s hands since February 2022, when the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion. Kyiv has used its domestically produced MAGURA V5 uncrewed naval drones in a string of dramatic strikes on the Black Sea fleet, taking out a slew of ships in the past few months.
Ukrainian naval drones destroyed Russia’s missile-armed corvette, the Ivanovets, in February. Later that month, Kyiv said it targeted the Caesar Kunikov, a large landing ship, with uncrewed surface vehicles, and earlier in March, Ukraine posted footage that appeared to show MAGURA V5 drones striking the Sergei Kotov patrol ship.
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Ukraine has also successfully targeted Moscow’s Black Sea assets using domestically manufactured Neptune anti-ship missiles and Western-provided long-range air-launched cruise missiles.
Ukrainian officials estimate that Russia has now lost up to a third of its Black Sea Fleet.
Kyiv has jeopardized Russia’s operations in the northwestern Black Sea, and Moscow has moved many of its valuable naval assets further from Ukraine’s reach, including to its Novorossiysk base.
Russia is still dominant across much of the Black Sea, even if it is restrained in the northwestern corner closest to Ukraine because of attacks by Kyiv’s forces, retired Ukrainian Navy Captain Andrii Ryzhenko told Newsweek in early March.
Reports have also suggested the Kremlin is planning a new military base at the port of Ochamchire in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia. This would put Russian assets even further from Ukraine’s coastline.
The U.K. government said earlier this month that Russia had likely restricted most of its operations to the eastern Black Sea.
“Due to an increased risk of Ukrainian strikes in their traditional homeport of Sevastopol, Novorossiysk port now serves a crucial role in sheltering the Black Sea fleet’s most valuable assets,” the British government added on Sunday.
Earlier this month, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu “ordered the installation of additional fire weapons, large-caliber machine-gun rifle systems to destroy enemy drones,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The guns will be deployed on Black Sea fleet vessels, reported Russian state media.
The new firepower will help “increase the survivability of ships and vessels” alongside new training programs “both during the day and at night to repel enemy terrorist attacks,” Moscow said.
Intelligence published by the British government has also suggested that Russia has turned to decoys of its most expensive assets to thwart Ukraine’s naval drone fleet.
Russia is now disguising its vessels with black paint, “likely to make their warships appear smaller and a less appealing target,” the U.K. government said earlier this month. “Silhouettes of vessels have also been painted on the side of quays, probably to confuse Ukrainian uncrewed aerial vehicle operators.”
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