Recent satellite imagery suggests that vessels from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet have vacated the Novorossiysk base, relocating further east in response to persistent Ukrainian attacks. The imagery, dated June 5, indicates a significant movement of ships from the base in Russia’s southern Krasnodar region. This potential “exodus” was reported by an open-source intelligence account on social media.
Newsweek has not independently verified the imagery and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
On Thursday, Ukraine’s navy reported that four Russian ships, including a Kalibr-cruise missile carrier, were present in the Black Sea. The departure of the Russian vessels from Novorossiysk was also noted by OSINT analyst MT Anderson, who compared satellite images from June 2 and June 5, revealing the movement of a large group of Russian Navy ships. Among them were two Project 266M “Aquamarine-M” minesweepers and one Project 12700 “Alexandrite” minesweeper, headed in an unknown direction.
The exact reasons and destination of the fleet’s relocation remain unclear. One theory is that the surviving Russian landing ships are being used for logistical tasks, replacing recently damaged vessels at the ferry crossing in Crimea. The departing ships included heavily armed patrol and missile ships, as well as minesweepers.
Russia has historically used Sevastopol in Crimea as its primary Black Sea base, but consistent Ukrainian missile and drone strikes, coupled with significant Russian naval losses, have compelled Moscow to reposition many of its assets further east, including to Novorossiysk. Western intelligence has noted that Russia has limited its operations in the northwestern Black Sea due to the increased threat from Ukraine. The British Defense Ministry previously described Novorossiysk as a “crucial” port for safeguarding the Black Sea Fleet’s most valuable assets.
Vasyl Maliuk, head of Ukraine’s SBU security service, stated in late May that Ukrainian forces had effectively confined the Russian fleet to Novorossiysk bay. Additionally, there are reports suggesting the Kremlin is considering a new military base at the port of Ochamchire in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, which would place Russian assets even further from Ukraine’s reach.
Despite the relocation to Novorossiysk, Ukraine has continued its efforts to threaten the fleet. In mid-May, drone attacks targeted military facilities in Novorossiysk and an oil refinery along the Black Sea coastline. In response to these threats, Russia has bolstered its defenses, using barges to guard the port entrance and painting decoy silhouettes of submarines to confuse Ukrainian drones.
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