After moving more than 50 ships to the Taman area in the Sea of Azov, the Russians cannot be certain of the safety of their new base, and the decision not to withdraw the ships from the Azov-Black Sea region is a political one.
This was stated on television by Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, according to a Ukrinform correspondent.
Commenting on reports of Russian ships moving to the Taman coast following strikes by the Unmanned Systems Forces, Pletenchuk said: “Only time will tell how successful these calculations were... Perhaps they decided to help us save a little on our drones—why not?”
Regarding the escort boats accompanying Russian tankers, he noted: “As the events of the past day have shown, it seems they decided to repel the attacks directly with their own ships, and as a result, there is now one fewer second-class ship of that type.”
Pletenchuk recalled that the Kerch Strait remains blocked by the Russians, who have effectively built “gates” at the entrance and exit. Because of this, Russia considered the Sea of Azov relatively safe, counting on the fact that maritime drones would not be able to enter it unhindered.
