Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that there are more “surprises” coming for Russia’s military assets in the Black Sea.
Speaking with Fox News’ Bret Baier in an exclusive interview that aired Thursday evening, the Ukrainian leader said that among Kyiv’s goals for 2024 was to “continue our successful story on the Black Sea.”
“And we will do it,” Zelensky said. “I will not go deeply [into] details, but they will get some surprises … That’s very important.”
The ContextUkraine ramped up its attacks on Russia’s infrastructure stationed in the Crimean Peninsula in recent months, which served as a launching pad for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. Kyiv has particularly homed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s Black Sea Fleet, claiming that its forces have “disabled” about a third of the Kremlin’s naval warships since the start of the battle.
The most recent successful Ukrainian attack on the Black Sea took out Russia’s Caeser Kunikov, which was struck by drones on February 14. Ukrainian officials said that most crew members onboard the landing ship were killed in the attack.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday gives a joint press conference with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris (not pictured) at the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany. Zelensky vowed on Thursday that there are more…
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What We KnowUkraine claimed to have taken out Russia’s Black Sea fleet flagship, Moskva, in April 2022. A missile attack in September of last year on the naval fleet’s headquarters in Sevastopol reportedly killed a number of Russian officers and destroyed one of Moscow’s submarines.
An attack in December 2023 on Russia’s landing ship, Novocherkassk, reportedly killed upwards of 37 Russian soldiers, according to Ukraine. And Kyiv also claimed to have taken out the Ivanovets warship on February 1, which reportedly sank in the harbor of Lake Donuzlav, the deepest lake in Crimea.
British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said in late December that Russia had lost up to a fifth of its Black Sea Fleet in the span of four months.
The ViewsThe Kremlin has not directly addressed Ukraine’s reports on its naval losses, although local media reported that Black Sea Fleet commander Admiral Viktor Sokolov was fired in the days following Kyiv’s attack on the Caesar Kunikov. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov previously told reporters that questions about the landing ship’s destruction should be forwarded to the Russian Ministry of Defense.
Ukraine’s maritime success has not necessarily translated onto the battlefield. Kyiv’s troops were recently forced to retreat from the eastern front lines, allowing Russia to take control of the town of Avdiivka after months of brutal fighting. Capturing the industrial village, however, came at a high price for Moscow’s armed forces.
What’s Next?Zelensky told Baier that it was a “big task” to defend against “such a big army” like Russia, saying that at the beginning of the war, “nobody in the world really believed that we [would] do it.”
He added that in order to have success in 2024, Ukraine has to think critically about its counteroffensive, although Zelensky acknowledged that to do so might include moving “slowly.”
“If we lose the soldiers, we will lose everything,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Zelensky also addressed the holdup of additional aid for Ukraine by Republican lawmakers in Congress, saying that Ukraine would “survive” with or without continued support from the United States.
“But not all of us,” he told Baier.
“It will be tragedy for all of us, not only for Ukraine, not only for Ukrainians, for all Europe, they will see that … Putin will never stop, he will go through Eastern Europe, because he wants it.”
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs via email for comment on Zelensky’s interview with Baier.
Uncommon KnowledgeNewsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Source : Newsweek