Russia Appoints Navy Chief After Ships Sink in the Black Sea

On Tuesday, Northern Fleet Commander Alexandr Moiseyev was appointed interim head of the Russian Navy, replacing Nikolai Yevmenov. His appointment occurred after a Ukrainian attack sank several Russian ships of the Black Sea Fleet.

RELATED: 

Ukraine To Receive 5 Billion Euros From New EU Military Fund

RIA Novosti agency posted a photo of Moiseyev and a video of the ceremony held at the Baltic port of Kronstadt, alongside a Navy submarine. Moiseyev, 61, previously served as head of the Black Sea Fleet until 2018, but in 2019, he was appointed commander of the Northern Fleet.

On March 10, outlets Izvestia and Fontanka reported that Yevmenov, who had been in charge of the Navy since 2019, had been replaced by Moiseyev following the sinking of several Russian vessels in the Black Sea, information that the Kremlin neither confirmed nor denied.

With domestically-made missiles and naval and aerial drones, Ukraine has managed to destroy several ships of the Black Sea Fleet since the beginning of the war.

In February, Kiev destroyed the Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov and the missile corvette Ivanovets near the shores of the Crimea peninsula.

Earlier this month, they also sank the corvette Sergey Kotov. According to Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR), seven Russian sailors died in that attack carried out with Magura V5 naval drones.

For this reason, Russian ships - some of which were transferred last year from Crimea to ports in mainland Russia - have not ventured into the Black Sea for days due to security concerns.