Ukrainian Navy says Russian ships withdrew from coastal waters in Black Sea

The Ukrainian Navy says ships of the Russian Black Sea fleet have withdrawn to more than 100 kilometers (about 65 miles) from Ukrainian shores as a result of its attacks with missiles and drones, News.az reports citing UNIAN.

In an operational update Monday, the Navy said that in an effort to regain control of north-western parts of the Black Sea, the Russians had deployed coastal missile systems in the Crimea and Kherson regions.

It said that the threat of missile strikes from the sea remains. "Since the beginning of the invasion, enemy ships and submarines have launched more than 300 cruise missiles on Ukrainian territory. Currently, the intensity of strikes with Caliber cruise missiles has decreased, while the enemy began to hit ground targets with anti-ship missiles....Probably, this indicates that Russia has used a significant amount of modern missile weapons and is forced to use out-dated types of missiles."

The Navy said that approximately 30 Russian ships and submarines continued the blockade of civilian shipping. "Currently, there are up to 12 large landing ships in the Black Sea, but more than a third of them are under repair," the Navy said.

"We deprived the Russian Black Sea Fleet of complete control over the north-western part of the Black Sea, which has become a "grey zone". At the same time, the enemy has adopted our tactics and is trying to regain control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea through coastal missile systems and air-based cruise missiles," the navy statement said. But it added there was still the risk of the Russians' landing tactical troops and sabotage and reconnaissance groups on the Odesa coast, especially in favorable weather conditions in summer.

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