Of 15,450 personnel in the Ukrainian navy 12,000 were based in Crimea, the majority have defected or resigned. 12 of 17 major Ukrainian warships have been seized by Russia as well as their only submarine and a large number of aircraft.
Officers of the Ukrainian navy Grisha V-class frigate Lutsk raise the Russian naval ensign on 20 March.
Ukraine's navy now faces an uncertain future. As well as losing the bulk of its ships, helicopters and aircraft, it headquarters building, much of the service's signals intelligence, training, administration, maintenance, and logistics infrastructure has now been lost. This includes the service's main underground ammunition storage site at Inkermann valley, outside Sevastopol. Russian naval patrols have also blockaded the access to the Sea of Azov to the east of Ukraine, cutting off military and civilian access to ports in the east of the country.
On 24 March, the last remaining major unit of the Ukrainian navy on Crimea still holding out - the 750 strong 1st Marine Battalion at Feodesia in the east of the peninsula - was overrun and many of its personnel were arrested. The unit's commanders had been negotiating with the Russians to be allowed to drive off Crimea with all their vehicles, weapons, and equipment so its dispersal will be a significant blow to its morale and unit cohesion.
On 24 March, the Russian authorities claimed to have seized some 189 Ukrainian bases on Crimea, including final sections of the Balbek airbase held by personnel of the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade; the airbase was overrun by Russian Spetsnaz troops in a dramatic assault two days earlier. The brigade's 39 Mig-29 fighters were seized in the first days of the crisis. The Ukrainian air force's 174th Air Defence Regiment base at Fiolent on the outskirts of Sevastapol was overrun on 21 March and its inventory of S-300 surface-to-air missiles seized. The fate of the last two Ukrainian air defence regiments on Crimea, the 55th regiment at Yevpatoriya and 50th regiment at Feodesia - and their S-300 and Buk-M1 weapon systems - is uncertain.
On 24 March, the last remaining major unit of the Ukrainian navy on Crimea still holding out - the 750 strong 1st Marine Battalion at Feodesia in the east of the peninsula - was overrun and many of its personnel were arrested. The unit's commanders had been negotiating with the Russians to be allowed to drive off Crimea with all their vehicles, weapons, and equipment so its dispersal will be a significant blow to its morale and unit cohesion.
On 24 March, the Russian authorities claimed to have seized some 189 Ukrainian bases on Crimea, including final sections of the Balbek airbase held by personnel of the 204th Tactical Aviation Brigade; the airbase was overrun by Russian Spetsnaz troops in a dramatic assault two days earlier. The brigade's 39 Mig-29 fighters were seized in the first days of the crisis. The Ukrainian air force's 174th Air Defence Regiment base at Fiolent on the outskirts of Sevastapol was overrun on 21 March and its inventory of S-300 surface-to-air missiles seized. The fate of the last two Ukrainian air defence regiments on Crimea, the 55th regiment at Yevpatoriya and 50th regiment at Feodesia - and their S-300 and Buk-M1 weapon systems - is uncertain.
Leave a comment: