The Russo-Ukraine War in the Black Sea has seen significant naval engagements and strategic shifts since January 2022. Russia initially built up forces in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, deploying warships and bombers, and capturing Snake Island on February 24, 2022, while declaring a navigation prohibition.
Ukraine responded by laying mines and scuttling its own fleet, but notably sank the SLAVA class cruiser Moskva with two Neptune anti-ship missiles on April 13, 2022, a major blow to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. Post-Moskva, Ukraine developed weaponized USVs, intensifying attacks around Snake Island, which Russia abandoned on June 30, 2022. This led to Russian ships largely withdrawing from the western Black Sea, a significant shift in the balance of power. Ukraine subsequently attacked Russian Navy headquarters in Sevastopol with UAVs and USVs, and damaged the Kerch Bridge on October 8, 2022, and again on July 17, 2023, using USVs like the SBU Sea Baby. These actions forced Russia to increase defenses, relocate vessels, and use landing ships for transport, demonstrating Ukraine's expanding asymmetric naval capabilities. The Black Sea Grain Initiative expired on July 18, 2023, followed by increased Russian missile attacks on Odesa.
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