Storm in Black Sea sends Russian warships back to port, but ‘threat of attack remains’
Russian warship (Photo:Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation)
Stormy weather in the Black Sea has sent Russian warships back to port, with only five vessels remaining on station, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s South Operational Command, said on Ukrainian national television on Feb. 5.
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia has not abandoned plans to launch missile strikes against Ukraine, but its navy has scaled back operations in the Black Sea because of the storm.
"The storm is so strong – five or six points, it's really a very powerful storm for the Black Sea – that (the enemy) had to bring its missile carriers back to base," said Humeniuk.
“The enemy ship grouping in the Black Sea has been drastically reduced to five units. These are, in particular, supply ships and reconnaissance vessels – those that are still in the Black Sea, but the process of returning to the base continues, because the wind is very strong, and the waves are very powerful.”
She also noted that there are no Russian warships on duty in the Sea of Azov, where there a storm of two or three points in scale.
"But we observe the continuation of reconnaissance activities," said the spokeswoman of the Southern Defense Forces.
“In particular, yesterday's air raid alerts throughout Ukraine related to an air reconnaissance aircraft indicate that the enemy is trying to reconnoiter our air defense by using MIGs along with the reconnaissance aircraft. They still continue to test it.”
On Feb. 3, the Ukrainian Navy reported nine enemy ships on combat duty in the Black Sea. Russia had one vessel in the Azov Sea and 10 in the Mediterranean.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
