Ukraine has launched its largest drone attack to date on Russian assets in the Black Sea and Crimea. This is consistent with an escalation in attacks on Crimea and the surrounding region in recent weeks, highlighting the strategic importance of that region for Kyiv.
At the start of the war, the Russian navy quickly secured control of the northwestern Black Sea. But its control was to be shortlived. In April 2022, Ukraine struck a blow against the Russian Black Sea Fleet when it sank the flagship cruiser Moskva. This was followed, in July the same year, by the retaking of Snake Island, which Russia had occupied in the early days of the war.
Both events undermined Russian prestige and morale, but – more crucially – they denied Russia its control of the Black Sea. But Ukraine’s depleted navy is not capable of controlling the Black Sea either, and, so far, Russia has still been able to deny safe traffic to and from Ukraine’s ports.
