![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This has been Russian policy for years, and a post-war Ukraine cannot thrive unless things change. Naval drone attacks on Sevastopol and ground-based anti-ship missiles have limited the freedom of maneuver of its fleet (and withdrawal of some units to Novorossiysk), but Russia retains a stranglehold on Ukrainian shipping movements, and thereby its main export route. While Ukraine’s navy has, despite its lack of major surface warships or submarines, successfully inflicted serious damage to Russia’s fleet, the Kremlin’s admirals direct the preeminent naval power on the Black Sea. Since then, Turkey has closed the straits to warships of both Russia and the alliance. ![]() The last non-littoral NATO warship in the Black Sea, the French frigate FS Auvergne, left in January 2022. Much has been said about this ( here, and here, and here), but the war has made progress difficult. Russia’s approach to the Black Sea is, according to former US Sixth Fleet commander and CEPA distinguished fellow, Admiral James Foggo, “like a boa constrictor around Ukraine’s neck, squeezing and squeezing and squeezing.” The alliance “needs a maritime strategy.” ![]()
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