The Kremlin has suffered several naval setbacks in recent months, including the sinking of its flagship, the Moskva, which was hit by Ukrainian forces with anti-ship missiles on April 14. Vladimir Putin’s forces are also struggling because they have lost many of their aircraft and no longer control the strategically important Snake Island, according to the Foreign Ministry. He added that Russian ships are near the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. “Surface vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet continue to pursue a highly defensive posture, with patrols generally limited to waters facing the Crimean coast,” the British government said in a briefing on Tuesday morning. Although Russian vessels continue to pound targets in Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles, they do not have effective control over the Black Sea, the statement added. As a result, the State Department believes the threat of a Russian amphibious assault on the port of Odessa has been “largely neutralized”, freeing up Ukrainian troops to fight elsewhere. Meanwhile, more fighting reportedly broke out near the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Europe’s largest, which is in Russian-controlled territory. Both sides have accused the other of endangering the region’s security by shelling areas surrounding the site. Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station near Enerhodar (Reuters) The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been unable to send experts to the facility to carry out safety checks, raising fears of a potential disaster. In a late-night speech, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday called for further sanctions against Russia, arguing that the international community should not accept “nuclear blackmail” from Russia. “If through Russia’s actions a catastrophe occurs, the consequences could be felt by those who are currently silent,” he said. “If now the world does not show strength and determination to defend a nuclear power plant, it will mean that the world has lost.”
