Ukraine ramps up drone strikes in the Sea of Azov and Black Sea

These newly exposed weaknesses put Russia at a disadvantage in any future peace process, as it would have to plead to secure its vulnerabilities rather than demand concessions from an exhausted adversary. Russia historically fought many military campaigns in the Black Sea theater, with mixed outcomes and several total losses of its fleet. The unfolding strategic debacle is by no means unprecedented, but Russia’s capacity to overcome it is fast diminishing as its industrial base decays, its energy complex is degraded and overtaxed, and the Kremlin’s social capital is damaged and corrupted.