russia continues to keep all its main combat ships in Novorossiysk, blocking the entrance to the bay with rusty barges. Since last Sunday, August 18, according to reports from the Ukrainian Navy, not a single russian ship has ventured out to sea.
Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk highlighted this fact during a television marathon. While the decision to keep surface ships from going to sea can be explained by the high risk of becoming another statistic in successful Ukrainian naval drone attacks, the situation with the submarines remains unclear.
Read more: Rostov na Donu Finally Sunk: Attack by Defense Forces of Ukraine Brought Unexpected Results
Let's recall that Ukraine currently lacks the means to effectively target submarines that are underwater, as this requires an entire system and the appropriate anti-submarine defense capabilities. Therefore, attacks on them are only possible in ports, as happened with the Rostov-na-Donu submarine, which was destroyed by missile strikes. To conceal the loss, a 56-meter replica was even constructed in occupied Sevastopol.
As Dmytro Pletenchuk noted, the reason for the refusal to deploy submarines at sea has not yet been fully clarified. Possible explanations include maintenance or an internal decision.
At the same time, Defense Express noted that the issue of maintenance could be key. Let’s recall that at the beginning of August, we reported that russia is unable to repair its submarines in the Black Sea, which is a fatal and irreversible situation. Their repairs were conducted only in Sevastopol, where Ukraine can destroy them.
It should be noted that russia currently has three Varshavyanka project submarines in the Black Sea (B-265 Krasnodar, B-268 Veliky Novgorod, and B-271 Kolpino) and one Paltus project submarine (B-871 Alrosa). According to available information, Krasnodar underwent repairs in 2020, and Kolpino in 2022, after which Veliky Novgorod was scheduled for repairs. The destroyed Rostov-na-Donu submarine was repaired in Kronstadt from November 2020 to March 2021, and in September 2023, it was struck in dry dock, meaning approximately two years passed between repairs.
Thus, there is a high likelihood that the russian submarines have already exceeded their inter-repair period. During the war, these submarines have been used much more intensively. This may be why the enemy is reluctant to deploy them at sea and is conserving their resources.
Let us remind you that the Novorossiysk Bay is within reach of Ukrainian maritime and aerial drones. Specifically, in May of this year, this city in the Krasnodar region was attacked by UAVs, and in August 2023, the landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak was struck by a kamikaze maritime drone near the base.
Read more: Irreversible Fate: russia Cannot Repair Its Submarines in the Black Sea - Loss Is Just a Matter of Time
