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Russia is using four submarines to monitor the Black Sea, a Ukrainian official told national television.
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Dmitry Pletenchuk said three were cruise missile carriers and two “periodically” went to sea.
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Russia has increased the pace of submarine production, with one type worrying NATO officials.
Russia has started using submarines to patrol the Black Sea after suffering major naval losses, a Ukrainian official said.
Dmitry Pletenchuk, a spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Military Command, made a statement on Ukrainian national television on Monday: according to Ukrainian Pravda.
According to Pletenchuk, Russia is now deploying four submarines, three of which are cruise missiles, to patrol the Black Sea.
Russian forces “have already introduced a practice of rotating these submarines in the morning,” Pletenchuk said. according to the Kiev Independent.
He added that the submarines were operating in the Azov-Black Sea region, with two taking to sea “periodically,” according to the outlet.
Pletenchuk’s statements came after the Russian Navy suffered series by important losses in the Black Sea.
Ukraine has deployed drones, missiles and other weaponry to go after Russian warships, including smaller ones tugboats. Earlier this year, the Ukrainian army claimed having destroyed a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.
The British Ministry of Defence declared the fleet “functionally inactive” in March.
The attacks have forced the Russian fleet to seek safer ports further away from Crimea.
But even there, Russian forces have come under attack, with Ukrainian drones targeting the port of Novorossiysk last month.
The Novorossiysk fuel oil terminal and the Transneft terminal were attacked on May 17 Kiev independent reported, with satellite images taken on May 18 shows signs of a fire.
Pletenchuk also said that three Russian landing ships and three Buyan-M-class missile ships were now stationed in the Sea of Azov, and that Russia was “building structures such as ships and background fences” to try to protect its ships.
Russia is known to have this used submarines in the Black Sea, some of which have past injury. One type – the Yasen-class submarines – is a biggest concern for NATO.
Russia spent twenty years building its first Yasen class submarinealso known as the Severodvinsk class, it entered service in 2013, but the pace has accelerated since then.
Two more entered service in 2021, and a fourth was due to join the fleet in November.
Five others are under construction or have already launched: Christopher Woody of BI reported in December.
The designated nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine has what appears to be improved sonar and a smaller and quieter reactor than previous models, and can also fire land-attack and anti-ship cruise missiles.
This has alarmed Western authorities fear this could allow the submarines to reach and target key locations in Europe and North America.
Read the original article Business insider
