In over two years, Ukrainian forces have devastated Russia’s Black Sea fleet.In lieu of warships, Ukraine uses unmanned drones and anti-ship missiles to thwart Russia’s navy.The barrage of attacks forced Russia to shift warships away from a prized naval base in Crimea.
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Ukraine has inflicted significant damage on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, wrecking many Russian vessels in over two years of war.Since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Ukrainians have destroyed or damaged roughly half of the Russian fleet’s warships, including one submarine, per publicly available information.Without warships of its own, Ukrainian forces have relied on unmanned maritime drones and long-range anti-ship missiles to hammer Russia’s naval forces.
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Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said in a public statement in February that the Russian Navy had about 80 warships at the outset of the war, including large warships, landing ships, submarines, patrol boats, and minesweepers.”I can say that the Black Sea fleet operations have been greatly complicated, if not paralyzed,” Pletenchuk said at the time.The attacks have allowed Ukraine to resume grain shipments through the Black Sea, which is central to its economy, and forced the Black Sea Fleet to shift warships away from its prized naval homeport in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula.Several Russian ships that Ukraine claimed to have destroyed have yet to be fully identified, but reportedly among them are Raptor-class patrol boats, a BK-16 high-speed assault boat, Serna-class and Akula-class landing craft, and a Stenka-class patrol vessel.Here are the Russian warships known to have been sunk or taken out of the fight over the past two years.
