The Russians only have an auxiliary fleet in Crimea, — Ukrainian Navy

In the occupied Crimea, the Russian invaders left only the so-called auxiliary fleet, while the warships were withdrawn from the peninsula.

This was stated by the spokesman for the Navy of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmytro Pletenchuk, during a telethon, Ukrinform reports.

According to him, support vessels and small boats that cannot be called combat are based in Crimea. They perform tasks of protecting bases, patrolling the water area, and anti-sabotage defense. These include, in particular, boats of the Grachonok and Raptor types with a crew of up to ten people.

The spokesman specified that these boats are capable of going to sea to perform certain tasks, but do not have the appropriate weapons. He noted that the Russians are forced to adapt to the conditions created by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and from time to time they also lose such boats, in particular during rotations on sections of the coast that cannot be reached by road.

Pletenchuk emphasized that the Russian occupiers withdrew warships from Crimea quite a long time ago. The latest signal for this was the remote mining of one of the patrol ships by Ukrainian drones, which received two mine damage within two days. After that, according to him, the warships did not return to Crimea.

Earlier, USM reported that Neizhpapa discussed with allies in Paris the strengthening of the capabilities of the Ukrainian Navy.