Russian leader Vladimir Putin has no other choice, which is why he makes statements about the alleged possibility of Moscow cutting Ukraine off from the sea. This was stated on the air of "24 Channel" by Andriy Ryzhchenko - a retired captain of the 1st rank, deputy chief of staff of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from 2004 to 2020.
He noted that Russia currently has "absolutely no capability" to cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea - neither from land nor from the sea.
"All of Russia's most combat-ready ships are currently in Novorossiysk. Since the beginning of the war, they have lost a third of their combat core. If any vessel becomes active, it will be an ideal target for our drones, which have already mastered the art of naval combat. They will essentially all be destroyed in the northwestern part of the Black Sea," said Ryzhchenko.
At the same time, he responded to Ukraine's strikes on Russian tankers. He noted that this is not about Russia's shadow fleet, but about tankers from different countries.
"Currently, the globalization of the maritime economy is such that a tanker can have an owner from one country, a flag from another, an operator from a third country, a crew from a fourth, and the cargo being transported can belong to a fifth country. That is, many countries can be involved. Therefore, in such operations, it is necessary to have very serious legal support, a mandate for the Security Forces. I think we need to work on this because we see that questions are indeed arising from the Turkish side," added Ryzhchenko.
Strikes on Russian Tankers: What is Known
On the eve of a meeting with the American delegation, Putin made a number of statements regarding the war in Ukraine. In particular, he claimed that Russia allegedly "can cut Ukraine off from the sea" if "piracy against Russian vessels" does not stop.
Earlier, the Russian oil tanker "Midvolga-2," which was heading from Russia to Turkey with a cargo of sunflower oil, was attacked 80 miles off the northern coast of Turkey. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded to this event, stating that Kyiv has nothing to do with this situation. They also noted that it could have been a provocation by Russia.
