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The Kyiv Independent’s contributor Ignatius Ivlev-Yorke spent a day with a mobile team from the State Emergency Service in Nikopol in the south of Ukraine as they responded to relentless drone, artillery, and mortar strikes from Russian forces just across the Dnipro River. Nikopol is located across from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Enerhodar.

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Russia's Black Sea Fleet forced to redeploy over Ukrainian drone attacks, Russian proxy admits

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Russia's Black Sea Fleet forced to redeploy over Ukrainian drone attacks, Russian proxy admits
The Russian warship Admiral Makarov of the Russian Black Sea Fleet lies off the port city of Sevastopol on 27 July 2019. (Ulf Mauder/dpa (Ulf Mauder/picture alliance via Getty Images)

Russia has redeployed vessels of its Black Sea Fleet due to attacks by Ukrainian naval drones, Dmitry Rogozin, a Russian proxy head of occupation authorities in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, said in an interview with Kremlin-controlled Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper published on Oct. 21.

Rogozin's surprise admission is in line with previous statements made by Ukrainian officials.

Successful Ukrainian strikes on occupied Crimea forced Moscow to pull out much of its naval forces from the peninsula to the Russian city of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai, which became a key port for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

According to Rogozin, a "military-technical revolution" took place during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, impacting the usefulness of traditional weapons systems. He referred to the Russian Black Sea Fleet as a weapon system that had undergone changes during the war.

"It (Black Sea Fleet) was forced... to change its residence because our large ships became targets for the enemy's unmanned boats," Rogozin said.

Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russia's vessels since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Around 30% of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is lost or disabled, according to the Ukrainian military.

Russian ships ineffective for missile strikes, used to distract Ukraine’s defenses, Navy says
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, said that if Russia deploys several cruise missile carriers to the sea, it does not mean they will be used for an attack.
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Kateryna Denisova

News Editor

Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years, covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics. Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv. She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany.

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