Putin rushes to install top nuke submarine commander as new Navy chief after drones send Black Sea fleet into the drink

8 months ago 2

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VLADIMIR Putin has installed his top nuclear submarine specialist as his new Navy chief amid several shocking failures in the Black Sea.

The tyrant hurriedly made Admiral Alexander Moiseev, 61, commander-in-chief after his abrupt firing of previous incumbent Nikolay Yevemenov.

Admiral Aleksandr Moiseev has been made the new commander-in-chief of the Russian navy[/caption]

Moiseev (middle) has focused his entire career on nuclear submarines[/caption]

It comes as Putin abruptly fired Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov (right) after several shocking losses in the Black Sea[/caption]

Former Admiral Nikolay Yevmenov, 61, who had held the post for five years, paid the price of the savaging of the Russian Black Sea Fleet by Ukraine kamikaze marine drones.

The Russian dictator is facing an immediate crisis in the war since the fleet’s warships have not put to sea for six days – for fear of more sinkings.

One theory is that Moiseev’s promotion from commander of the Arctic-based Northern Fleet is that his appointment is meant to send a signal to the West over the threat of nuclear war.

Moiseev – a recipient of the Kremlin’s highest honour, “The Hero of Russia” – was the first man to launch satellites into space fired from the submerged K-407 Novomoskovsk which he commanded.

His entire career has surrounded nuclear submarines – a crucial part of Russia’s “nuclear triad” – and he is also known to have tested Russia’s latest weapons.

There has not yet been a formal announcement of Moiseev’s promotion but this is widely seen as a matter of time.

Independent Vot Tak TV reported: “The reasons for Yevmenov’s resignation were not disclosed, but they seem obvious — the complete helplessness of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, which continues to lose combat ships at a rate of one vessel per month in confrontation with Ukrainian naval drones, as well as deep systemic problems in managing the Russian Navy.”

Last Tuesday the £51 million Sergey Kotov patrol vessel, one of Putin’s newest naval ships, was sunk by a flock of unmanned MAGURA V5 attack drones.

A video clip of the patroller, Sergey Kotov corvette, showed the ship being blown to pieces by a swarm of Ukrainian jet-ski-powered sea drones.

The £51million vessel was seen being hit multiple times in the early morning strike near Feodosia, in occupied Crimea.

The attack forced Kremlin officials to close Putin’s prized Kerch bridge to Crimea.

Last month, the £170 million Caesar Kunikov large landing ship was also destroyed.

Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency has released footage of the daring strike – spearheaded by Group 13 special forces – showing the ship’s silhouette just before it is blasted by the explosion.

A clip from another sea drone then appears to show the mighty ship turned on its side in the Black Sea.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on the sinking.

Several large landing ships have been sunk, including the Novocherkassk, which was struck on December 26, 2023.

Russia is thought to have lost more than a quarter of its fleet – some 21 vessels – in the war, including the early sinking in 2022 of flagship Moskva, in a Neptune missile strike by Ukraine.

The Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol were also blitzed in a missile strike last year.

By combining powerful missiles with kamikaze sea drones, Zelensky‘s army has impressively chipped away at Vlad’s beloved warships.

Dr Bastian Giegerich, security analyst for British military think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said that Ukraine has had “great success” in striking Russian naval targets.

Giegerich said: “Kyiv continues to target Russia’s Black Sea Fleet with great effect.”

“Through the use of sea drones and missiles, including the Storm Shadow rockets supplied by the West, Ukraine has “eroded the fleet’s operational effectiveness through creative strategy and tactics”.

Meanwhile, Putin has continued to desperately try and downplay the true losses his army has faced in the Black Sea.