Expert: Ukraine has turned Black Sea into trap for Russian Navy

Ukrainian naval drones and strikes against the Russian Black Sea Fleet are effectively reshaping the world’s perception of modern naval warfare. Following Ukraine’s operations, major navies can no longer feel invulnerable, even at their own bases.

This view was expressed on “Ihor Dolhov’s Program” by Captain 2nd Rank Andrii Ryzhenko, former deputy chief of staff of the Ukrainian Navy.

According to him, at the start of its full-scale invasion, Russia expected to quickly establish control over the Black Sea and land troops on the Ukrainian coast. “Sea mines and the ‘Neptune’ system thwarted the Russian Federation’s plans for an amphibious landing near Odesa,” Ryzhenko noted.

He emphasized that the liberation of Zmiinyi Island was a turning point, as it allowed Ukraine to maintain its maritime logistics. “Without the liberation of Zmiinyi, there would be no ‘grain corridor,’” the expert stressed.

According to Ryzhenko, it was the attacks by maritime drones that were the main reason Russia lost control of the Black Sea waters. “Maritime drones forced the Russian fleet to flee from Sevastopol,” he stated.

The expert noted that Russia had been forced to relocate some of its ships to Novorossiysk and strengthen defenses at its bases in Crimea. “Ukraine has effectively confined the Russian fleet to its home ports,” said Ryzhenko.

He also emphasized that the war in Ukraine has revealed the vulnerability of large ships to new technologies. “The future of the fleet lies in small unmanned systems,” the expert noted.

Ryzhenko added that the U.S., the U.K., and NATO countries are already actively studying Ukraine’s experience.

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According to the expert, Ukraine has effectively become the country that forced the world to rethink the classic model of naval warfare. “The Black Sea has become a ‘gray zone’ that Russia no longer controls,” Ryzhenko concluded.

Earlier, Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk reported that the Russian military had begun installing makeshift protective structures (so-called “barbecues”) on patrol ships to defend against strike drones, but these are unable to fully secure the vessels, particularly against attacks by surface drones.