Ukraine warns of `surprise` for Russia in the Black Sea 0
(Dan Tri) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that there will be many `surprises` about to happen to Russian military assets in the Black Sea.
Warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet (Photo: TASS).
In an interview with Fox News broadcast on the evening of February 22, President Zelensky said that one of Ukraine’s goals for 2024 is `to continue our success story on the Black Sea.`
`We will do it. I won’t go into details, but they (Russia) will get some surprises…It’s very important,` Mr. Zelensky said.
On the same day, President Zelensky met with the heads of foreign missions and international organizations in Ukraine and announced Kiev’s foreign policy plan for 2024.
Mr. Zelensky emphasized the need to make efforts to end the war in 2024. The President of Ukraine explained that to achieve this, Kiev plans to continue efforts to receive defense, financial and humanitarian support
According to Mr. Zelensky, Ukraine’s second task is to promote Kiev’s peace formula and organize the first global peace summit at the world leadership level.
The third task that Mr. Zelensky mentioned is to strengthen defense cooperation and increase sanctions pressure on Russia, including the use of frozen Russian assets.
The Ukrainian Navy announced earlier this month that the activities of Russian forces in the Black Sea had become `very complicated, if not paralyzed` after nearly two years of conflict.
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian navy, said Russia lost up to 25 of about 80 naval vessels of various types that the country deployed in the early stages of the conflict in 2022.
Mr. Pletenchuk said up to 35 of these ships posed a `real threat` to Ukraine, giving Russia a long-range strike capability and enabling Moscow to operate around the Crimean peninsula and the region.
Russia has not yet commented on the above information.
Immediately after Russia launched its military campaign in Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea emerged as an important `front`.
Russia is said to have relocated a number of ships in the Black Sea from the Crimean peninsula to the Novorossiysk base in Russia’s Krasnodar region, away from the Ukrainian coast.
Russia is also said to be establishing another Black Sea base in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia.
Ukraine does not have a strong navy but has used unmanned vehicles and missiles provided by the West to great effect in raids on Russian targets in the Black Sea.
The British government said aid from NATO allies would help Ukraine `transform its navy`, bringing it on par with the alliance and enhancing security in the Black Sea.
