In addition to the heavy fighting on the ground in southern Ukraine and the Donbas, Ukraine and Russia are clashing in the Black Sea.
Both sides are fighting for precious natural gas and oil in the area.
Fighting for the Black Sea’s Oil and Natural Gas
There are significant skirmishes in the Black Sea, south of the ground battlefield, between the two militaries.
“As tensions remain high in the Black Sea, skirmishes have taken place between maritime and air forces around strategically important gas and oil platforms between Crimea and Odesa,” the British Military Intelligence assessed in its latest estimate of the war.
Last week, Russian aircraft attacked Ukrainian military small boats in the northwest part of the Black Sea, a sign that the fighting in the area is heating up.
These platforms are owned and operated by the Chernomorneftegaz natural gas and oil company, which has been under Russian control since 2014, when Moscow first invaded and annexed Crimea.
After the full-scale Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, the Ukrainian military has been gradually going after the Russian-controlled platforms, targeting and striking several of them. In addition, Ukrainian forces have also occupied a number of them for brief periods of time.
These platforms, as well as any small islands or islets in the area, are precious to both sides.
“The platforms command valuable hydrocarbon resources. However, like Snake Island to the west, they can also be used as forward deployment bases, helicopter landing sites, and to position long-range missile systems,” the British Military Intelligence added.
The maritime conflict in the Black Sea began in earnest after the initial invasion but lasted only for a few weeks. On April 4, 2022, the Ukrainian military managed to sink the guided-missile cruiser The Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, with two well-aimed anti-ship missiles. The Russian Navy quickly retreated back to its harbors in the Crimean Peninsula and south Russia.
Since then, the naval war has been one of drones and sabotage. The Ukrainians have been using unmanned maritime vehicles to attack Russian warships and logistics within their ports with significant success.
Russian Casualties in Ukraine
Meanwhile, on day 460 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian forces continued to take significant casualties. Over the past 24 hours, the Russian military and pro-Russian separatist forces lost about 550 men killed, wounded, or captured, as well as dozens of heavy weapon systems, such as main battle tanks, artillery pieces, infantry fighting vehicles, and armored personnel carriers.
Overall, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense claimed that as of Sunday, Ukrainian forces have killed and wounded approximately 260,820 Russian troops, destroyed 322 fighter, attack, bomber, and transport jets, 316 attack and transport helicopters, 4,396 tanks, 5,403 artillery pieces, 8,554 armored personnel carriers, and infantry fighting vehicles, 728 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), 18 boats and cutters, 7,854 vehicles, and fuel tanks, 498 anti-aircraft batteries, 4,378 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 808 special equipment platforms, such as bridging vehicles, and four mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems, and 1,411 cruise missiles shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses.
A 19FortyFive Defense and National Security Columnist, Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University, an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), and is pursuing a J.D. at Boston College Law School. His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.
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