After the destruction of the cruiser “Moskva”, the island actually served as the lost flagship of the Black Sea Fleet.
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Russian soldiers have abandoned Zmiiny Island, a small but very important outpost in the Black Sea. This Ukrainian victory will not affect the course of the war in general. But it will weaken the Kremlin blockade of the Black Sea.
The Wall Street Journal writes about this in an editorial, recalling that the Snake Island is located not far from the Ukrainian coast, near the international border with Romania. Its occupation was a priority for Russia from the beginning of the invasion. The Russian army managed to do this, but only after the Ukrainian soldiers defending the island gave, so to speak, a very famous piece of advice to a Russian warship.
In the end, the forces of Ukraine sank the cruiser “Moskva”, which was the same ship. But the Snake Island began to perform the same functions as the lost flagship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation. Russia has begun deploying surface-to-air missile systems and anti-ship missiles on its territory, as well as electronic warfare equipment, to limit Kyiv's capabilities in the Black Sea. All this provided cover for the remaining Russian warships, which Moscow uses to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian territory. Also, Russian ships have become unattainable targets for Ukrainian artillery.
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Without Zmiiny Island, if Russia wants to maintain the same level of operational activity in the Black Sea, it will have to send its ships within range of Ukraine's Harpoon and Neptune missiles. Moscow also used Zmiiny Island to threaten merchant ships heading to and from the port of Odesa. By blocking Ukrainian food exports and creating a global crisis, Moscow hoped that it would be able to gain diplomatic leverage in this way.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said on Thursday that the withdrawal from Zmiiny Island was a “gesture of goodwill”< /strong>. But the Wall Street Journal thinks that's hard to believe given Russia's bloodlust in this war. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense praised the weapons “and equipment from our international partners.”
“When the West provides serious firepower, the Ukrainian military demonstrates that they know how to use it,” the publication writes.
Russia also claims that its retreat from Zmiiny Island “will not allow Kyiv to speculate on the food crisis, citing the inability to export grain due to full Russian control in the northwestern part of the Black Sea.” But retreating from Snake Island will not end the Russian blockade of Ukrainian exports. The water area is still mined. And the Russian Navy is blocking the routes through which merchant ships exported wheat or sunflower oil.
“However, retreating from Snake Island removes a major obstacle to breaking this blockade. The West should take advantage of the Ukrainian success by launching an operation to escort merchant vessels in the Black Sea,” the American publication suggests.
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