Russian warships have been exercising cautious behavior and making unexpected U-turns, hiding from Ukraine’s naval drones, said a Ukraine Navy spokesman.
Recently, a group of Russian vessels approached the Bosporus Strait, only to abruptly reverse course instead of proceeding to Russian-held Crimea.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, the Ukraine Navy spokesman, suggested that the ships may have been responding to perceived threats, signaling a fear of a Ukrainian attack, per Newsweek.
“These vessels were forced to move along the Turkish border, in effect hiding out in Turkish territorial waters. Thus not taking the shortest route, which they would normally take, but instead fleeing to their hiding spots,” Pletenchuk added.
Recent observations by OSINT analysts have highlighted similar maneuvers involving Russian vessels, including those subject to US sanctions.
Yörük Işık, a Bosphorus OSINT observer, noted on X, formerly Twitter, the bizarreness of a Russian shipping vessel’s movements.
Very very strange: Civilian vessel in name only, @USTreasury sanctioned SC South owned Russian flag cargo vessel Sparta IV, comes all the way to the southern entrance of Bosphorus, about to transit, traffic gets suspended due to fog. Sparta IV turns around & is heading to Aegean. pic.twitter.com/6IXtC4gg3o
— Yörük Işık (@YorukIsik) February 26, 2024
Ukraine’s repeated attacks on Russia’s Black Sea fleet have been one of its standout successes of the two-year-long war.
The Ukrainian effective use of naval drones has resulted in substantial losses for the Russian fleet, limiting its capabilities and forcing adjustments to operational strategies.
Indeed, Ukraine has bolstered its naval drones by arming them with bigger warheads. The “deadlier” naval drones have been effective at sinking Russian warships.
Ukraine has built them to be “stronger, more efficient, and deadlier” compared to the earlier models, Brig. Gen. Ivan Lukashevych told Business Insider.
‘Ukraine’s non-conventional approach to maritime warfare’
Pravda Gerashchenko
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Center for Strategic Communications reports disabling about 33% of the Back Sea Fleet’s warships.
Pletenchuk claimed Russia had only five serviceable ships, down from 13, following the sinking of the landing ship Tsezar Kunikov in February.
As a result of Ukraine’s success in targeting Russian naval assets, the Black Sea Fleet has been compelled to redistribute its forces, affecting its ability to exert control over maritime trade routes in the western part of the Black Sea.
It is “increasingly evident that the defensive posture adopted to mitigate against Ukraine’s non-conventional approach to maritime warfare is not working as intended,” the UK’s Ministry of Defence said in February, per Newsweek.
