After the devastating setbacks in the war in Ukraine and the sinking of the Russian “Moskva”, the Russian military has largely retreated to safe waters around the annexed Crimean peninsula in recent months. But now Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin is making analysts and observers tremble again. On Thursday, he inaugurated several new warships, including a submarine capable of firing nuclear missiles. The Ukrainian secret service is already speculating that a Russian missile strike from the Black Sea is imminent.
In his online blog, naval expert HI Sutton warns that satellite images from recent days show “significantly increased activity” by the Russian navy in the waters off Sevastopol near occupied Crimea.
According to his analysis, four Kilo-class submarines are currently in the Black Sea. These are used, among other things, to launch cruise missiles towards Ukraine.
Ukraine: “Worst case scenario, major Russian offensive already at the end of January”
In recent weeks, there has also been shipping traffic around Crimea, Sutton continues. “But we haven’t noticed such a shift in scale for weeks.” The Ukrainian army expects that “in the worst case scenario, a new major offensive could be launched at the end of January.” In his blog, Sutton also does not rule out that the increased activities of the Russian navy could serve as preparation for a major attack.
Putin announces production of more warships
Putin, who attended the inauguration of the new devices via video conference, announced the production of more ships on Thursday and praised the capabilities of the Russian navy. Russia will “accelerate and expand the construction of ships of various types and equip them with the most modern weapon systems,” the Kremlin boss said.
New nuclear submarine “Generalissimus Suvorov”
From his office he gave the signal to hoist the Russian flag on the new ships. One of the new additions is the nuclear submarine Generalissimus Suvorov, capable of launching nuclear ballistic missiles. On paper, Russia’s navy is significantly stronger than Ukraine’s, especially due to its nuclear submarines. But because the Ukrainian army is tactically smart, it has been able to largely repel Russia’s attacks so far.
Putin, who has been in power in Russia for nearly 23 years, has made the modernization of Russia’s armed forces one of his priorities. The armed forces were equipped with advanced missiles, including hypersonic missiles, new ships and especially tanks. However, reconstruction is expensive and repeatedly delayed due to technical problems and corruption.
Source: Krone
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