Russian Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu asked to strengthen training and increase the number of weapons to repel Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea Fleet, the press release of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation says. Independent Kyiv.

“It is necessary to conduct training with personnel every day. Training to repel attacks from the air and attacks from unmanned ships,” Soigu said, according to a Telegram message. He also ordered the installation of additional firearms, large-caliber systems to destroy Ukrainian drones.

This was said during a visit to the Black Sea command post, presumably in the occupied Crimea.

According to the report, Shoigu visited the Crimean Sevastopol and visited the military hospital that is being built there.

Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, headquartered in Crimea, has been hit repeatedly by Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. Attacks include the sinking of the cruiser Moskva in April 2022 and a devastating missile strike on naval headquarters in occupied Crimea that reportedly killed more than 30 officers.

According to the Ukrainian military, as of the beginning of February 2024, about 30% of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was decommissioned.

During the latest attack on March 5, Ukrainian military intelligence reported the destruction of the Russian ship “Serhiy Kotov”.

According to the military intelligence of Ukraine, the patrol ship of project 22160 received damage to the stern and sides. It is reported that “Sergiy Kotov” was near the Kerch Strait when it was attacked by domestically produced “Magura V5” marine drones.

“The cost of the sunken ship is approximately $65 million,” the intelligence agency wrote

On February 1, just two weeks before this feat, the GUR revealed how its agents managed to sink the Russian Tarantul III class missile corvette Ivanovets at night.

As a result of several direct hits to the ship’s hull, the corvette was damaged and sank. The cost of this ship was approximately 60-70 million dollars.