The Russian Air Force Has Significantly Reduced The Number Of Flights Over The Black Sea
- 4.08.2026, 21:23
The Ukrainian Navy has identified the probable cause.
Russian aircraft stationed in the temporarily occupied Crimea have significantly reduced the number of sorties over the Black Sea over the past two weeks. The Ukrainian Navy believes this may indicate that Russia is having trouble supplying its forces on the peninsula.
This was reported by the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy Dmytro Pletenchuk, according to "Ukrinform".
“Over the past two weeks, it has become clear that they (the Russians—Ed.) are facing difficulties with this. The number of air sorties has dropped by an order of magnitude. Whereas before we were talking about dozens of sorties per day, now we’re talking about isolated incidents,” he said.
According to Pletenchuk, the main problem for Ukraine in the Black Sea remains the Russian air force, which is based in occupied Crimea and has long held de facto superiority in the airspace. At the same time, in his opinion, the reduction in the number of combat sorties may limit Russia’s ability to carry out its plans in the Black Sea.
“The trend toward a reduction in flight sorties in particular may indicate that they are indeed already experiencing difficulties in supplying the occupation forces in Crimea,” the spokesperson suggests.
At the same time, Pletenchuk noted that, despite the decline in air activity, Russia continues to actively use reconnaissance drones, as well as missiles and kamikaze strike drones to attack civilian vessels.
During the “United News” telethon, Pletenchuk also reported that Russian troops have recently been repeatedly attacking ships that have been in ports in the Mykolaiv region for an extended period of time. According to him, these strikes serve no military purpose and are likely intended primarily to create a propaganda effect for Russia’s domestic audience.
“Unfortunately, they’ve now developed a tendency to launch repeated and multiple strikes against ships that have already been abandoned or have been sitting in port for years; this primarily concerns the Mykolaiv region. In reality, there is no military rationale for this,” he said.
According to Pletenchuk, through such attacks, Russia is attempting to create the illusion of a supposedly successful strike against Ukraine’s logistics infrastructure and to demonstrate this to its domestic audience.
In July, Russian forces significantly intensified their strikes on Ukraine’s port infrastructure and civilian fleet. The strike on the Golden Leo, which killed 10 people, as well as attacks on the tanker Gas Lisbon and the bulk carrier Golden Rose, forced shipowners to make their own decision and suspend operations with the ports of Odesa.
Taras Vysotsky, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food, confirmed that due to the deteriorating security situation, the entry of ships into Ukrainian seaports has been temporarily suspended as of July 22.