Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence: Russia Plans to Relocate Black Sea Fleet from Crimea to Abkhazia
Vadym Skibitsky, a spokesman for the Defense Intelligence Service of Ukraine, said that the Russian occupiers in Crimea plan to move their warships from the Bay of Sevastopol to Abkhazia, the occupied region of Georgia. According to him, this strategic move follows a series of strikes and special operations carried out by the Ukrainian Defense Forces in Crimea, which have escalated the military threat on the peninsula.
“There is active work going on in the town of Ochamchire in Abkhazia – the Russians have been dredging there, reconstructing the port infrastructure in some places to ensure that warships can be based there,” he noted.
Skibitsky further revealed that some of the Russian ships had been transferred to Novorossiysk, but the small port there could not accommodate the entire Russian Black Sea Fleet. Consequently, the Kremlin has decided to use the occupied territory of Georgia for this purpose.
During the opening ceremony of the Second Parliamentary Summit of the Crimean Platform, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky addressed Russia’s plans, stating: “Recently, the Russian leadership was forced to declare the establishment of a new base for the Black Sea Fleet in the occupied territory of Georgia – specifically in the southeastern part of the sea, distant from Ukrainian missiles and naval drones… The Russian military fleet is no longer capable of operating in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually retreating from Crimea. This is a historic achievement”.
According to the press release of the Crimean Platform, the President of Ukraine assured that this development will not hinder the Defense Forces and expressed his firm belief that Ukraine will undoubtedly regain full control over Crimea and its adjacent waters.
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