As noted by British intelligence officers, the visit of the head of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu, was another attempt by the Kremlin to save the Black Sea Fleet from final destruction by Ukraine.
What is known about Russia's plans
Shoigu's team intends to limit its operations in the eastern part of the Black Sea because it is aware that Ukraine will not stop its powerful strikes.
Ukraine's successes in conducting an asymmetric naval strike campaign led to the fact that on March 17, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited the command post of the Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, says the report of the Ministry of Defence of Great Britain.
According to British intelligence, Shoigu reviewed updated data on Ukrainian operations and discussed the effectiveness of Russian naval forces in the region.
In addition, Putin's henchman announced new measures for units of the Black Sea Fleet to reduce risks from Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles, including surface ones.
The Russian MOD chief Sergei Shoigu also insisted on conducting daily exercises to combat drones, which will allow ship crews to quickly repel attacks day and night.
The Russian minister demanded that his wards immediately install additional large-calibre weapons on ships to strengthen their defence capabilities.
The Russian Navy has likely resorted to limiting its operations in the eastern Black Sea as its losses amount and its threat perception increase, British intelligence officials say.
Britain analysed the tasks of the new commander of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.
Recently, it became known that Oleksandr Moiseev, instead of Nikolai Yevmenov, became the new Commander-in-Chief of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.
British intelligence suggests that Admiral Moiseyev's first task in his post will be to stabilise the security situation in the Black Sea and implement changes to increase the combat capability of the fleet in the region.
What is essential to understand is that although Admiral Moiseev, who previously commanded the Northern Fleet, is a staff submariner, he also commanded the Black Sea Fleet from 2018 to 2019.
