Amidst the daily heartbreaking news of continued carnage by Russia’s aerial terrorism of Ukrainian civilians as well as the now basically static but no less vicious fighting along the 1,200 long battle trace, ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE is quietly doing something that would have been considered a major heavy lift for even an acknowledged sea power like the United States. It would be definitely impossible for a nation with no sea power to speak of, in the normal sense of the concept, to degrade and render hors de combat much of Russia’s Navy in the area it once loudly and arrogantly claimed as “our own sea” … the Black Sea. Not only that but Ukraine has managed to even keep the Russian Navy out of the Sea of Azov. That is a stunning achievement, unthinkable even a mere couple of years ago. But that is the reality today. Ukraine did that:
No Russian warships in Black and Azov Seas - Ukrainian Navy
As of July 5, no Russian ships have been recorded in the Black and Azov Seas. Two enemy vessels are in the Mediterranean Sea, one of which is a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles with a total salvo of up to 4 missiles.
In the Black and Azov Seas, no enemy ships were recorded on July 5. Instead, there are two Russian ships in the Mediterranean Sea, one of which is a carrier of Kalibr cruise missiles. This was reported by the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (VMS ZSU), according to UNN.
unn.ua/...
And even more remarkable, Russia’s mercantile shipping is keeping a wide berth from the Ukrainian coastline and furtively making their way to and from the Turkish Bosphorus straits into the Mediterranean by turning off their navigational identification systems and transponders, etc. … against International Maritime Regulations:
The Russian Federation continues to violate the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS) by switching off automatic identification systems.
That’s how scared the Russians are of Ukraine’s new drone based “Sea Power”.
So what happened to Russia’s once feared Black Sea navy? What Ukraine did to that naval formation will one day be recounted along the same lines as what the overmatched ancient Greeks managed to do by destroying the vaunted Persian armada at the Battle of Salamis .. through sheer pluck, ingenuity and guile. The Battle of Salamis, fought in September 480 BC, was a pivotal naval battle during the Persian Wars, where a smaller Greek fleet decisively defeated the larger Persian navy in the straits of Salamis. This victory is considered a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars, significantly impacting the course of Western civilization. A year later the Greeks will seal the deal(as the Ukrainians also will) by defeating the once invincible Persian “ million man host” infantry and killing Emperor Xerxes’s military satrap, Mardonius, at the Battle of Plataea in August, 479 BC. Thus ended the second and final invasion of Greece by Persia.
Within two years of Putin launching his ill-fated Special Military Operation(SMO) on February 24, 2022 to try and subjugate the Ukrainian people, Ukraine had not only succeeded in rolling back the Russian onslaught on land but had also:
Despite having no large naval vessels on active duty, Ukraine has taken out around one-third of the Kremlin's Black Sea Fleet, mostly with missile and marine drone strikes amid Russia's ongoing invasion.
www.rferl.org/...
Not only that but a Ukraine confident of eventual victory, had also started rebuilding their naval fleet which was virtually destroyed when Russia’s “Green Men” landed in Crimea and took over the Ukrainian naval facilities and vessels in Sevastopol in March 2014:
The Rebuilding Of Kyiv's Navy, Far From Ukraine
Now Kyiv is rebuilding its own naval strength after their maritime forces were decimated during the Russian invasion. But the ships are being made outside Ukraine’s borders, and it is unclear whether they will have any role in the current war with Russia.
In Turkey, a vessel built for the Ukrainian Navy was completed and launched in Istanbul in October 2022. The ship's crew has been enlisted and the ship, named the Hetman Ivan Mazepa, is undergoing sea tests. Hetman was a title for Ukrainian Cossack military commanders, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries.
On a visit to an Istanbul shipyard on March 8, Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskiy was given a tour of a second warship being built in Turkey under contract from Kyiv. During the visit, Zelenskiy named the incomplete vessel the Hetman Ivan Vyhovsky after a 17th-century commander who fought to keep Ukraine out of Moscow's orbit.(emphasis mine)
www.rferl.org/...
It is important to note that the new Ukrainian naval ships(as mentioned above) are named in honor of prominent historic Kozaki military leaders(Hetman) who marshaled the Cossacks as they fought to maintain their independence and cultural identity, especially from Imperial Russia. Additionally the Ukrainian vessels which survived the Russian assault on Sevastopol, among them the four naval mine sweepers(in caption photo) in turn bear names of two cities(and oblasts) … Chernihiv and Cherkasy which harken back to Ukraine’s Kyvian Rus foundational roots ... roots which existed even long before the founding of Moskva Rus and Russia.
Furthermore the two other mine sweepers bear names harkening back to Ukraine’s other key post Scythian historical foundation story … the establishment of several coastal polis(plural poleis) or ancient Greek colonial city-states after the mythological return to ancient Greece by Jason and the Argonauts with the “Golden Fleece”. The fleece was in reality the golden grains now so synonymous with the fertile lands washed by the great wide Dnipro River. Ancient Greece, a generally rocky, fire and earthquake prone land had found its granary and they came to stay, sailing up the Ionian sea and up the Hellespont into the Pontus Axeinos(“the inhospitable sea”) which they quickly changed to Pontus Euxeinos(“the hospitable sea”) once they settled in and got to liking all the goodies along its shores. We nowadays call it the Black Sea. Among the many poleis the ancient Greeks established from the coast of the Southern Caucasus to Georgia to Ukraine, Romania, Moldova and Northern Turkiye are Mariupol and Melitopol. Ancient Chersonesos(Kherson) is of course well known as are Odessa and Sevastopol and many other places in Crimea which still bear their ancient Greek names.
By so naming its new navy, Ukraine is making it clear that it is fully intent on making a clean break from the ambit of Moskva Rus and its serial depredation, predations and impositions. Not only are they fighting to reclaim their language, identity and civilization but also to forge their bright Western European future.
To that end Ukraine’s growing naval force is not satisfied just holding Russia at bay. They are already moving to integrate their navy with that of NATO just as Finland and Sweden did before their accession to full membership. This year as in the last few years, Ukraine has been part of Exercise Sea Breeze. It is an annual multinational naval exercise initiated to ensure and enhance interoperability between NATO Allies and partners. 2025’s exercise was divided into two parts, 25-1 hosted by Romania and the currently ongoing 25-2(June 30 to July 11) hosted by Scotland focus on mine sweeping. Ukrainian mine sweepers Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Mariupol and Melitopol are participating.
And in a bit of a surprise belying the daily ruckus about the off and on U.S. military assistance to Ukraine in the Krasnovian era, the Ukrainians on their part are not so reticent in helping America’s armed forces, among others. On the ground as part of Exercise Sea Breeze, Ukraine’s military is training U.S. Marines and others from Moldova, Romania, etc in specialized drone warfare:
Ukrainian Marines Guided American HIMARS to Target as Part of Sea Breeze 2025 Exercises
Ukrainian marines from the 30th Marine Corps guided the US Marine Corps’ HIMARS at a simulated enemy command post as part of the Sea Breeze 2025 exercise.
In general, all fire tasks were completed in full. The partners are satisfied – it was interesting for them to try themselves as an element of the system that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been building over the past three years on the battlefield.
According to the Ukrainian military, the partners highly appreciated the training of this episode of the complex. Because they gained invaluable experience that they would hardly have gained sitting in a room somewhere with the slides on.
militarnyi.com/...
Putin, Russia and even Krasnov may huff and puff but Ukraine’s future course is set. ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE most assuredly will bring to an end its centuries of living under the bilious influence of Moskva Rus and will join a united Europe. And NATO ... de facto if not de jure. Soon come.
SLAVA UKRAINI ! PREMOHA(Victory) !!
