British intelligence: Russia's Black Sea Fleet has significantly reduced activity and is in hiding
Following the dismissal of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet in March 2024, the fleet has been the least active since the beginning of the war. Ships and submarines were withdrawn from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk, further east, due to attacks from Ukraine.
On April 18, 2024, the UK Ministry of Defense published the latest intelligence update regarding Ukraine on social media. The British ministry announced that on the first day of April this year, the Admiral Grigorovich-class guided missile frigate undertook activities related to servicing weapons at the Black Sea Fleet base in the port of Novorossiysk.
British intelligence explains that modern Russian ships of this type are equipped with vertical launch systems for cruise missiles intended to hit targets at sea and on land. In the past, missiles of this type were reloaded in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Russia places missile systems on a missile frigate at a new base. He is afraid of Ukraine's attacks
However, the Black Sea Fleet largely withdrew its ships and submarines from Sevastopol to Novorossiysk further east. Since the dismissal of the commander of the Black Sea Fleet in March 2024, the fleet has been the least active since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.
The British Ministry of Defense has indicated that the Black Sea Fleet will almost certainly remain in the port of Novorossiysk because this is the best way to avoid an attack from Ukraine from the sea. However, it was concluded that the modernization of the maintenance, logistics and weapons handling infrastructure at the base is very likely intended to support new possibilities for stationing Russian ships for an indefinite period.
Rotations in the Russian Navy after the attacks on the Black Sea Fleet
After significant losses in the Black Sea Fleet, there were frequent changes at the highest levels in the Russian Navy. At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the commander was Admiral Viktor Sokolov, but in mid-February his duties were temporarily taken over by the current chief of staff of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk.
