Russia attempted to compensate for the loss of the land bridge connection with Crimea using ships. Around 120 cargo ships were active in the Sea of Azov, and a significant portion of them were actively engaged in supplying Crimea with resources such as gasoline and diesel.

Ukraine observed this and now has the weapons available to counter it.

Of the 120 ships that were originally there, more than 100 have already been attacked. Most of those ships are now so heavily damaged that they are no longer capable of sailing under their own power.

The problems for Russia have therefore increased further, as 25% of Russian grain exports are now effectively no longer possible. Those ships are now also being attacked by Ukraine, and Russia is holding ships in ports to prevent them from being attacked at sea.

There is no solution for Russia in the short term. The ports are not safe either. One might even wonder how long the economic recovery will take for Russia, because many of the attacked ships can simply be written off. The repairs cost more than the entire ship is still worth. That capacity is therefore lost, and replacing the ships will require significant investment and time.

Putin recently had the chance to end the war, but he believed he could still win. Now that 100 ships have been disabled, the price of the war has risen enormously once again, and the loss of the ships will haunt the Russian economy for years to come.

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