Satellite Photo Shows Russian Black Sea Fleet Upgrades

Russia has upgraded its main eastern Black Sea Fleet port following Ukrainian attacks on Crimea, where Moscow had largely based its naval assets in the region, new satellite images suggest.

Russia has "highly likely" invested in building up key infrastructure, such as logistics, maintenance and support for weapons systems, at its Novorossiysk facility, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on Thursday.

Ukraine's persistent attacks, largely using innovative naval drones and long-range missiles, have been one of the most successful aspects of Kyiv's war against Russia. Ukraine has succeeded in taking out a slew of Russian vessels and targeted Moscow's assets around the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Russia has controlled the peninsula for a decade, using it as a main base for the Black Sea Fleet and as a springboard to attack Ukraine. Kyiv has vowed to reclaim Crimea.

Ukrainian officials have estimated Russia has lost around a third of its Black Sea Fleet since February 2022.

The Kremlin has relocated some of its Black Sea assets from the peninsula further east to its Novorossiysk base, in Russia's Krasnodar region further from Ukraine's coastline.

Russia is also thought to be establishing another Black Sea base in Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Georgia. This would move Russia's resources in the Black Sea even further away from Ukraine's reach.

A Grigorovich-class frigate reloaded its weapons system in Novorossiysk at the start of April, a task typically carried out in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, the British government said on Thursday, sharing images appearing to show the frigate in the eastern Black Sea port.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Since the start of the year, Ukraine has targeted a number of Russia's Black Sea Fleet vessels using both missiles and naval drones. Kyiv has struck a handful of Russia's landing ships, a reconnaissance vessel, a corvette and a patrol ship since the beginning of 2024.

Although Russia's navy has "suffered significantly in the Black Sea," its overall naval force remains strong and "Russian naval activity worldwide is at a significant peak," General Christopher Cavoli, the head of the U.S.'s European command, told U.S. lawmakers in April.

British intelligence has previously assessed that Russia is using decoys and false silhouettes to ward off Ukrainian drone and missile strikes at its Black Sea facilities.

Moscow has also announced it will beef up the protection around its fleet with large-caliber machine guns to shoot at incoming naval drones before they strike Russian vessels. 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," Russia's Defense Ministry said in March.

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