Naval News – During a visit to Odessa and Mykolajiv, Dutch Defense Minister Kaisa Ollongren announced that the Netherlands will donate Alkmaar-class mine countermeasure vessels to Ukraine.

RUSI – Given that building anti-submarine warfare capabilities along Western lines would require significant time and resources, how can Ukraine best counter the Russian submarine threat?

Naval News – The February 28 2023 drone strike on Tuapse shows the growing distances of Ukraine’s attacks. The strategic port is located on the Russian coast north of Sochi. The implication is simple: no Russian base in the Black Sea is beyond Ukraine’s reach.

BBC – Ukraine has denied any involvement in September’s attack on the Nord Stream pipelines, which were built to carry Russian natural gas to Germany. The denial follows a report from the New York Times, which cites anonymous US intelligence officials who suggest a pro-Ukrainian group was to blame.

Breaking Defense – “You’ve seen the Russian effectiveness from the maritime has been declining. The very reason [is] that the Ukrainians have become better at targeting and using the weapons that we that we provided them,” said CNO Adm. Michael Gilday.

Naval News – Two things are happening in the Black Sea which together could shift the dynamic in Russia’s favor. Russia has copied Ukraine’s’ maritime drones and started using them. At the same time, a decision by Elon Musk to limit Starlink use may stop Ukraine using their own.

RUSI – The use of uncrewed surface vessels by Ukraine to inflict damage on the Russian navy has attracted widespread attention. But does it really herald a new era of naval warfare as some are suggesting?

Naval News – It appears that a Ukrainian maritime drone, similar to those using in an attack on Sevastopol, has struck Novorossiysk. This would be strategically important, showing that more of the Russian Navy is under threat. Efforts may be underway to suppress this story in Russian media.

Naval News – While analysts and experts are still talking about Ukraine’s shocking kamikaze attack on Russian warships at the Sevastopol naval base, Ukraine has launched a new fundraising campaign to build an unmanned surface fleet.

(Thanks to Alain)

The War Zone – Ukraine hopes to raise enough money to build 100 of these unmanned surface vessels to counter Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.

USNI News – The United States will send 40 armored riverine boats to Ukraine as part of the latest assistance package.

Navy Lookout – On 29th October an attack was mounted on Russian Black Sea Fleet units using uncrewed boats and aircraft. Here we examine what is known about the events, the implications for the war in Ukraine and more widely for other navies.

Guardian – Russia has said it will pull out of a UN-brokered grain export deal after a dramatic attack by Ukrainian airborne and underwater drones on its Black Sea naval base of Sevastopol in the early hours of Saturday morning.

War Zone – Russia says Ukrainian aerial drones and unmanned surface vessels targeted the home of its Black Sea Fleet, damaging at least a minesweeper.

USNI News – A small, unmanned watercraft of unknown origin washed up from the Black Sea on the shore of Crimea, near Russia’s naval base in Sevastopol, late last month.

Naval News – A previously unreported drone boat, known as a USV (uncrewed surface vessel), appears to have slipped past Russian Navy patrols. The device was found on a beach close to the major Russian Navy base of Sevastopol in Crimea.

War Zone – A Pentagon official explained how the U.S. helped turn ship-based Harpoons into truck-based weapons used by Ukraine to sink two Russian ships.

Naval News – The UK is giving underwater drones to Ukraine and training Ukrainian personnel in Britain to use them to clear their coastline of mines.

War Zone – Despite Ukrainian denials from some quarters, officials in Moscow say that the drone strike was launched from within Russia-held territory.

BBC – The first ship carrying grain has left a Ukrainian port under a landmark deal with Russia.

USNI News – Ukraine still faces hurdles in grain exportation despite an agreement with Russia, brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, to allow shipments of the food stuff to leave the country.

Articles of War – On June 17, Ukrainian forces successfully used a U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship cruise missile to attack and sink a Russian resupply ship that “almost certainly” carried weapons and reinforcements bound for Snake Island in the Black Sea. Two weeks later, on June 30, Russian troops evacuated the small outpost. Moscow had claimed the retreat from Snake Island was a “gesture of goodwill” in advance of recognizing a humanitarian corridor to permit the safe export of grain from Ukraine. But Ukraine said the Russians were forced out as their position on the barren rock had become untenable without logistical support. Ukraine raised its flag on Snake Island on July 4.

Naval News – Russia’s navy is, by any measure, more powerful than Ukraine’s. But the war is not going all their way. At sea, the Russian Navy is finding itself retreating from a large swathe of the Black Sea.

Navy Lookout – Before Russia invaded Ukraine it was considered the ‘breadbasket of Europe’ responsible for about 13% of global grain exports. Russia’s blockade of the Black Sea is preventing this grain from reaching markets all over the world causing global food shortages and price hikes. Various politicians have called for naval intervention and here we look at the situation and the options for resolving this crisis.

USNI News – Ukrainian forces used a Harpoon missile to sink a Russian resupply ship headed to Snake Island.