"Did not live up to expectations." The Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is broken and now used only as a defensive force - Politico

The Russian Black Sea Fleet was once considered a central element in the attempts of dictator Vladimir Putin to occupy Ukraine, but the Armed Forces made its role minor, Politico reports. The newspaper writes that the fleet and the airplane that accompanied it was affected by the innovative attacks of Ukrainian missiles and drones.

"While the Russian submarines from time to time firing Ukraine, the fleet did not live up to the expectations assigned to it at the beginning of the war, and took a defensive position either in the port or far from the shore to avoid a Ukrainian attack," the article reads. Video Day Journalists said that since the spring, the problems of the Black Sea Fleet have intensified through poor management and outdated equipment.

A number of military failures led to the release of the commander Admiral Igor Osipov. The publication writes that the battle for the island of Snakes showed that the Russian fleet did not find a response to Ukrainian attacks, and ships became even more vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks. The US Defense Defense stated that the unwillingness to actually use its ships as a combat force means that the fleet has become almost helpless and "not used for several months".