US State Department reacts to destruction of Tsezar Kunikov with praise for Ukrainian creativity

Following the news of the destruction of the Russian warship Tsezar Kunikov, a senior US State Department official has called the fact that the Russian Navy cannot operate in the Black Sea at will "a fundamental shift in strategic positioning".

Source: Voice of America, citing an unnamed State Department source who spoke to the press

Quote: "These drone strikes in the Black Sea are a serious matter. The fact that the Russian Navy cannot operate in the Black Sea at will, compared to how it could operate at the beginning of this war, is a fundamental shift in strategic positioning in the Black Sea region."

Details: The senior State Department official added that this had been achieved "through ingenuity, support from Ukraine's allies and partners, of course, but really through the creative and technologically advanced approach of the asymmetrical way that Ukraine chose to change the balance of security in the Black Sea".

The official added that this rebalancing is key to a fundamental element of US support for Ukraine, which is to help develop the Ukrainian economy and to help Ukraine support its military efforts on its own.

"And they [Ukraine] could not have achieved this without resisting the Black Sea Fleet and keeping the Black Sea Fleet under threat. According to some estimates, Russia has lost 20% of its Black Sea Fleet warships," the official concluded.

Background:

• On the morning of 14 February 2024, explosions from the sea were heard in Russian-occupied Crimea, especially in Yalta, Miskhor, Alupka and Simeiz. It was reported via public channels that a large landing ship had been attacked near Miskhor, and the Russians sent another ship and Mi-8 and Ka-27 helicopters to conduct rescue operations. The Russian Ministry of Defence reported only that six drones had been intercepted over the sea.
• Ukrainska Pravda sources in Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) reported that DIU drones had struck the large Russian landing ship Tsezar Kunikov in the Black Sea. Later, DIU officially reported that the warship had been sunk by Magura V5 sea drones and released a video.
• The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine later confirmed reports of the destruction of the Tsezar Kunikov, which was in Ukrainian territorial waters near Alupka at the time.
• Now that the Tsezar Kunikov has been sunk, only 5 of the 13 ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet remain in service.

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