, Columnist
The Next Front in the Ukraine War Will Be on the Black Sea
So far Kyiv has overcome a huge maritime disadvantage, but the West needs to do more for for its naval forces in aid packages.
On watch in Mariupol.
Photographer: Aleksey Filippov/AFP/Getty Images
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On the surface, the tiny Ukrainian navy, just 5,000 active-duty sailors and a handful of small coastal boats, appears to be significantly overmatched by Russian maritime forces.
The Kremlin’s Black Sea fleet consists of over 40 frontline warships. The Russians seem poised to cut off the Ukrainian economy from access to the sea — essentially re-creating the Anaconda strategy U.S. President Abraham Lincoln used in the 19th century to choke off the Confederacy.