Russia has officially replaced the commander of the Black Sea Fleet, giving Vice Admiral Sergei Pinchuk the daunting role of overseeing naval operations in a region that has long troubled Moscow.
The change of command is part of a broader shake-up in Russian naval leadership and comes as Moscow struggles to systematically prevent Ukrainian missiles and explosive drones from relentlessly attacking its warships in the Black Sea.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced a presidential decree appointing Pinchuk as commander of the Black Sea Fleet during a teleconference Tuesday with military leaders, according to a statement released by Moscow’s Defense Ministry on the Telegram messaging platform.
Pinchuk is a career naval officer who previously served as deputy to Admiral Viktor Sokolov, the former commander of the Black Sea Fleet.
In this photo released by the press service of the Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu leads a meeting with the leadership of the armed forces at the National Defense Control Center in Moscow, in Russia. Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry via AP
Russian war bloggers first reported in mid-February that the Kremlin was firing Sokolov and replacing him with Pinchuk, although Moscow only appeared to make the official announcement this week.
In a Sunday updating informationtwo days before the official Russian decree, the British Ministry of Defense said that Sokolov had been replaced “as a result of Ukrainian successes” in using unmanned surface vehicles, or USVs, to damage and destroy ships of Russian war in ports and at sea.
Because Ukraine does not have a navy of its own, it relies on these systems to wage asymmetric warfare against the Black Sea Fleet. Russia took some defensive measures to protect its warships, but the navy was ultimately unable to coherently defend against the USV threat.
Shoigu expressed concern about this serious threat, and Pinchuk, the British Ministry of Defense said, “probably sought to improve the chances of survival of Russian ships by adopting more preventive and defensive measures, including reducing the access to port facilities.
The recent intelligence update included recent satellite images of the port of Novorossiysk, on Russia’s west coast, where part of the Black Sea Fleet has relocated to move away from its vulnerable headquarters in Sevastopol , a port city on the occupied Crimean peninsula.
Footage shows that Russia has placed barges at the entrance to the port of Novorossiysk in an attempt to defend against attacks by Ukrainian USVs.
Warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet take part in Navy Day celebrations in the port city of Novorossiysk, July 30, 2023. STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images
This appears to be the first example of the new commander’s efforts to achieve his alleged fleet protection goals.
However, it remains to be seen whether such measures will actually be enough to put an end to Ukrainian attacks. Beyond its USV force, kyiv has also used missiles to inflict damage on the Black Sea Fleet. Russia has lost about a third of its warships since the full-scale war began more than two years ago.
At the same time, Tuesday’s presidential decree also promoted Admiral Alexander Moiseyev – formerly himself commander of the Black Sea Fleet – to oversee the entire Russian Navy and Vice Admiral Konstantin Kabantsov to command the Northern Fleet.
“Dear colleagues, congratulations! You realize the enormous responsibility that falls on you,” Shoigu said during the teleconference, according to the Russian Defense Ministry’s statement.
“I hope that you will fulfill the tasks set by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and, of course, the country,” he added .
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