Ukraine's Navy Commander says Russia won’t be able to maintain fleet without Sevastopol
For the Russian invaders, Sevastopol is a technological hub, without which it is impossible to keep the Russian fleet in the Black Sea, and the task of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is to make it impossible for the Russians to use naval bases.
Source: Vice Admiral Oleksii Neizhpapa, Commander of the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda (the interview will soon be translated into English)
Quote: "Sevastopol is the main base that fully satisfies the maintenance of the fleet, a repair base, several repair plants, and airfields, including Belbek and Kacha. In Novorossiysk, for example, there are no airfields, no large repair plants, no weapons storage facilities, etc.
This is, by and large, one of the reasons why they ended up in Crimea in 2014. Because without Sevastopol, they would not have been able to keep the Black Sea Fleet in the Black Sea."
Details: Neizhpapa clarified that Sevastopol is a base that has been built for centuries. In particular, ammunition and fuel stocks are scattered there, which are hidden in the mountains, they are more challenging to hit. Kalibr missiles are also located there because there are closed storage systems for them.
Secondly, the commander said, Sevastopol has a medical supply centre, a large hospital, and so on. All educational institutions were built there. "That is, Sevastopol is such a strategic hub," Neizhpapa explained.
The Navy Commander said that it is physically dangerous for the Russian fleet to stay in Novorossiysk, for example, especially in large numbers. "The military port that Russia was already building there during Ukraine's independence was enlarged, but it is not developed enough to provide the base for the Black Sea Fleet," said the commander.
Asked how realistic it is to ensure that Russia, even if it still controls Crimea, cannot use its naval bases, Neizhpapa answered: "This is work that must be done. There is a task which the president and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces have to do, and we will do our job."
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