At the end of last year, Putin openly voiced his desire to organize a naval blockade of Ukraine. However, the Russians are unable to implement the dictator’s plan, as a full-fledged blockade would require deploying warships at sea. This is problematic for the occupiers — the level of threat to their fleet is extremely high.

This was stated on air of the United News telethon by Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy.

According to him, all that remains for the occupiers are shelling attacks. For this purpose, the enemy uses both kamikaze drones and ballistic missiles. The goal is only one—to create “at least something resembling” a blockade of the Ukrainian grain corridor, which continues to operate.

“There are vessels, they enter, the corridor is functioning. The Russians have effectively signed their own confession to war crimes by publishing their attacks online. And, of course, all of this will eventually be included in the evidence base regarding war crimes committed by the Russian Federation against Ukraine”, — the Navy spokesperson noted.

Pletenchuk also emphasized that by unsuccessfully attacking, the enemy is demonstrating “its maximum capability”. At the same time, the Russians themselves have something to lose. In the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, which are within reach of Ukrainian weapons systems, there are interesting targets.

“One should not forget that the port of Novorossiysk is the largest port in the entire Russian Federation. One should not forget that ports in the Black Sea are the only ones in Russia that do not freeze. And one should not forget that up to 20 percent of tanker, liquid, sanctioned oil is also shipped through Black Sea ports. Therefore, our enemy also has something to lose in this situation”, — Dmytro Pletenchuk emphasized.