Ukraine conflict: Russian Black Sea Fleet suffers another set back - MoD

The Russian Black Sea Fleet has suffered another set back in the conflict in Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD)

Kremlin forces lost their flagship cruiser MOSKVA in April – with the MoD now stating in an intelligence report that it is unlikely the Black Sea Fleet can manage high-profile public events alongside its wartime activities in Ukraine.

The update comes after an explosive device carried by a makeshift drone blew up on Sunday at the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol on Navy Day, wounding six people and prompting the cancellation of ceremonies.

Sevastopol, which was seized along with the rest of Crimea from Ukraine by Russia in 2014, is about 100 miles south of the Ukrainian mainland.

In an intelligence update, the MoD said: “The reported strike on Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol on Navy Day is the latest setback for the Black Sea Fleet in the five-month-old war against Ukraine, which included the loss of its flagship, the cruiser MOSKVA, in April 2022.

"Following the reports of cancelled parades, it is unlikely that the Black Sea Fleet can manage high-profile public events alongside its wartime activities.”

The update also touched on the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey leaving from the port of Odesa as part of efforts to release large stores of Ukrainian crops to foreign markets and ease a growing food crisis.

In this handout photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service released on Sunday, June 19, 2022, The Russian frigate of the Black Sea Fleet from the Black Sea launches a Caliber cruise missile at designated ground targets on a mission at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

The MoD report stated: “The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship RAZONI left the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa on August 1, headed to the port of Tripoli in Lebanon loaded with 26,000 tonnes of Ukrainian grain.

"This marks the first grain shipment from a Ukrainian port since the invasion began, enabled by an agreement on a grain export transit corridor between Ukraine, Turkey, the UN and Russia on July 22.”

Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements with Turkey and the UN clearing the way for Ukraine – one of the world’s key exporters – to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural goods that have been stuck in Black Sea ports because of Russia’s invasion.

The UN welcomed the development, saying secretary-general Antonio Guterres hopes the shipments would “bring much-needed stability and relief to global food security”.