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Black Sea War Grows Hotter As Russia Destroys Two Ukraine Military Boats

Tyler Durden's Photo
by Tyler Durden
Tuesday, Aug 22, 2023 - 02:15 PM

The Black Sea export corridor wars continue, after Russia has been striking ports and Ukraine has with NATO members Romania and Bulgaria's help utilized 'alternate' routes to get grain to global markets.

Russia's military on Tuesday said it destroyed two Ukrainian military boats in the Black Sea within the space of merely a few hours. It indicates the ongoing trend of ramped up naval activity and aggression following the collapse of the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative deal when it expired on July 17.

Via AFP

"Russia said on Tuesday its forces destroyed a Ukrainian military boat in the Black Sea, the second vessel it claims to have attacked in the space of a few hours," AFP reports.

"On Aug. 22 at about 11:00 Moscow time (08:00 GMT) east of Snake Island, a U.S.-made Willard Sea Force speedboat with a Ukrainian landing group was destroyed by a Russian army aircraft," Moscow's Defense Ministry said in a fresh statement.

The past two weeks have seen Russia accuse Ukraine of seeking to destroy its warships utilizing Western-supplied advanced marine drones.

Russia's defense ministry has issued new video which purports to show the destruction of a Ukrainian patrol ship on the Black Sea. Given Ukraine's general lack of air power compared to superior Russian aerial forces, the Ukrainian boat appears to be a sitting duck...

On August 4th, a sea drone did score a direct hit on the Olenogorsky Gornyak warship, severely damaging it while off the port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports. Video and images showed the vessel is listing in the aftermath.

Importantly, the port is among the largest in the Black Sea basin and is significantly far from Ukrainian shores, on the clear other side of the Crimean peninsula. Russia has meanwhile taken aim at Ukraine ports and grain silos along the Danube River, just across from NATO member Romania. 

Kiev has all along increased its cross-border drone attacks on Russia, with more drones overnight being sent as deep into Russian territory as the capital of Moscow.

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