According to the intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain, the criminal army of the Russian Federation lost the opportunity to operate freely in the Black Sea in the area of Snake Island.
What is known about the army's loss of control over the area near Snake Island
British intelligence notes that, most likely, on December 5, 2023, a Su-24M fighter of the occupying Russian army was hit by a Ukrainian air defense missile in the northwestern part of the Black Sea near Snake Island.
The British Ministry of Defense emphasizes that since the summer of this year, criminal Russian aviation has been carrying out dangerous strike missions with a crew near the island.
Thus, as noted by British intelligence officers, the Russian army seeks to demonstrate that it can operate freely in the Black Sea.
This is likely mainly for messaging reasons because the island has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance and Russia wants to demonstrate it can project force across the Black Sea. Both sides still suffer regular combat aircraft losses. Overall, air defences continue to severely limit the effectiveness of tactical air operations, the summary of British intelligence noted.
What is known about the successful attacks of the Armed Forces on the ships of the Black Sea Fleet
According to the AFU Navy spokesman, Dmytro Pletenchuk, the Russian ship "Askold" damaged by the Ukrainian military in November of this year will probably be sent for repairs.
Pletenchuk noted that the enemy is now concerned with the survival of its fleet.
The Russian occupiers have already lost 15 units destroyed and 12 damaged. Even taking into account their total number in the Black Sea, this is quite a serious indicator, the AFU Navy spokesman notes.
He also noted that after Ukraine launched its grain corridor through the Black Sea, 7.5 million tons of grain were exported.
And we are talking about more than 200 ships that used it. Therefore, of course, the Russian Federation is nervous about this, they don't like it very much, because, firstly, an instrument of influence was taken away from them, and, secondly, of course, this is such a geopolitical humiliation, which they are not used to, Pletenchuk emphasized.
He noted that the Russian occupiers are currently completely rethinking things. The criminals of the Russian army were redeployed and dispersed.
That is, they are trying to preserve their fleet. They are periodically stationed not only in Novorossiysk, but in Tuapse. And they are seriously considering the possibility of deploying their ships in the occupied part of Georgia — Abkhazia," Pletenchuk said. At the same time, he said that two new Karakurt-class ships are currently based in Novorossiysk, one of them visited the plant in Kerch, and the other— a few days ago he entered the Azov-Black Sea region via the Volga from Kazan, from the city of Zelenodolsk, where they are being built. "In general, they planned 5 units as part of the Black Sea Fleet, and they overturned one of them into the water area, and now the small Tucha missile ship is in Novorossiysk, Pletenchuk explains.
