Every day since the beginning of the large-scale Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defense publishes its assessment of the situation in the conflict. On August 9, 2023, it is about attacks on Russian ships.
Via X, formerly Twitter, the British Ministry of Defense writes: “On August 4, 2023, the Russian tanker (MT) Sig was attacked and disabled near the Kerch Strait, apparently by an unscrewed surface vessel (USV).” And further, “This occurred one day after a similar attack on the landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak and two days after an apparently foiled attack on Russian patrol boats believed to be escorting the Russian merchant ship Sparta IV. (…) Although they sail under civilian flags, the MT Sig and MV Sparta IV have long been tasked with transporting fuel and military goods between Russia and Syria.”
It goes on to say that as of Feb. 28, 2022, Russian military ships could no longer pass through the Bosphorus, leaving Russian forces in Syria and the Mediterranean heavily dependent on the Sig, the Spart IV, and a handful of other civilian vessels.
“The attacks show that USV operations are increasingly becoming an important part of modern naval warfare and can be directed against the weakest links in Russia’s sea lanes.”
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-12-16), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)