“Russia Has Lost the Black Sea,” Zelenskyy Says

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on July 4 that Russia has “lost the Black Sea,” while footage released from a meeting with Ukraine’s Naval Forces revealed updated figures on damage inflicted on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the start of the full-scale invasion.

Speaking during events marking Ukraine’s Navy Day, Zelenskyy credited the country’s Naval Forces and other branches of the Defense and Security Forces with shifting the balance in the maritime domain.

“The Naval Forces of Ukraine, together with other components of the Defense and Security Forces, have done what many considered impossible. Russia has lost the Black Sea,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that Ukraine’s campaign—from the liberation of Snake Island to operations against Russia’s fleet, ports, and occupation forces in occupied Crimea—demonstrates that “the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov will certainly not become a place of peace for Russia.”

During the same visit, Zelenskyy presented military honors to Ukrainian naval units and announced that Ukraine will establish a new Naval Academy in Odesa to expand officer training for the country’s growing naval force.

“I know our Naval Forces need it, we have the capability, and, most importantly, our cadets and young people want to serve and defend Ukraine. We will definitely implement all of our plans,” the president said.

Footage published by the Presidential Office from a coordination meeting with the command of the Ukrainian Navy also showed a situation board summarizing Russian naval losses. The image, later highlighted by Defense Ministry advisor Serhii Sternenko, listed the following figures for Russia’s Black Sea Fleet:

• Main combat ships: 33 total—4 destroyed, 8 damaged;

• Landing ships: 34 total—15 destroyed, 10 damaged;

• Auxiliary vessels: 23 total—3 destroyed, 9 damaged.

The figures provide one of the clearest official visual summaries released to date of Ukraine’s assessment of damage inflicted on Russia’s naval forces in the Black Sea during the war.

Ukraine’s maritime campaign has included long-range missile strikes, naval drone attacks, and special operations targeting Russian warships, logistics infrastructure, and military facilities in temporarily occupied Crimea.

Earlier, the partisan movement Atesh reported that Russia had begun reassigning Black Sea Fleet personnel to newly created drone warfare units, citing heavy naval losses and a declining role for parts of the fleet.

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