The danger of an amphibious landing by Russian troops in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa has largely been averted, British military analysts said.
The analysts cited Russia’s depleted Black Sea fleet among other factors.
“This means Ukraine can divert resources to press Russian ground forces elsewhere,’’ the update by Britain’s Defence Ministry said.
Russian ships were limited in their ability to effectively support Moscow’s invasion efforts in Ukraine and are adopting an extremely defensive posture, the report said.
Aside from submarines, they remained within the sight of the coast of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, in marked contrast to the increased activity of Russian ships on other seas at this time of year.
While Russian ships continued to fire long-range missiles, the fleet was struggling to gain naval dominance, in the analysts’ view.
A significant number of aircraft and control of Snake Island a key strategic site took place, after the loss of the flagship Moskva.