<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">A few days after Russia launched its invasion of neighboring Ukraine, Russian conscript sailor Mark Tarasov wrote to his mother in St. Petersburg from aboard the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship, the Moskva.&nbsp;</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>“I'm fine. Alive. We are all good. I don’t really know what is happening in the world right now, only in basic terms,” he wrote, according to a photograph posted by his mother on social media network VKontakte.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>“I can't wait to get back [home], nine more months left.”&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Less than two months later, a pair of Ukrainian anti-ship missiles struck the Moskva in the seas off Odesa, causing a large fire. Eventually, the ship sank.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The sinking of the Moskva, the pride of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was the first in a series of symbolic setbacks suffered by the fleet in the 200 days since Moscow ordered troops into its pro-Western neighbor.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Defeats at sea and on land have significantly reduced the fleet’s offensive capabilities and — according to reports — led to the removal of its commander.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>One Western official reportedly said last month that, as a result of its losses, the Black Sea Fleet was now little more than a “coast defense flotilla.”</div><div><br></div><div>Particularly noticeable has been the destruction of men and equipment in Ukrainian attacks, including at least 10 naval vessels, according to Oryx, an intelligence blog that tracks Russian military losses.</div><div><br></div><div>“With the loss of the Moskva, hundreds of marines and a number of other ships, the fleet likely no longer has the combat power to support fully cutting Ukraine off from the Black Sea,” said independent military analyst Pavel Luzin.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>A Ukrainian missile sank the landing ship Saratov in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian port city of Berdyansk in March and Ukraine has since damaged or destroyed five patrol boats, according to Oryx.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>The rescue tug Vassily Bekh was sunk in June as it delivered weapons and personnel to Snake Island, the strategic outpost which was later abandoned by Russian forces.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>Perhaps most symbolically, the Black Sea Fleet’s headquarters in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol has been attacked not once — but twice.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>An apparent drone strike in late July resulted in six casualties and the cancellation of planned Navy Day celebrations. Three weeks later, another drone hit the same building, sending a plume of black smoke into the sky.&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>In addition to the loss of naval vessels, the Black Sea Fleet has also seen the destruction of other military equipment and a high level of personnel casualties.</div><div><br></div><div>More than half of the Black Sea Fleet’s combat jets were put out of use last month when a series of explosions took place at Saki air base in Crimea, according to an assessment by an unidentified Western official quoted by Reuters. Source: CNN</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>