Weekend Update #164: Ukraine Is Winning The War At Sea
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
-
Kilo-class submarine
16 min read
The article centers on Ukraine's attack on a Kilo-class submarine. Understanding the technical specifications, capabilities, and strategic importance of this Soviet/Russian diesel-electric submarine class provides essential context for why damaging one represents such a significant tactical victory.
-
Siege of Sevastopol (1941–1942)
11 min read
The article discusses Russia's forced withdrawal from Sevastopol. This WWII siege provides historical context for the port's strategic importance and shows how control of Sevastopol has repeatedly determined Black Sea naval dominance across different conflicts.
-
Russian shadow fleet
16 min read
The article references Ukraine's attacks on 'shadow fleet oil tankers' but assumes reader familiarity with this concept. Understanding how Russia uses aging tankers to evade sanctions and maintain oil exports is essential context for grasping the strategic importance of Ukraine's Mediterranean attacks.
Hello All,
This was one of those technological milestone weeks in the war at the sea, and that alone deserves the lead story. However there was alot happening around the world in relation to the war. The most important was the European decision, which is being hotly debated, not to fund Ukraine with the use of Russian assets but through guaranteed loans. That debate has divided people of good will and deserves comment. The other thing was that the Trump administration (quietly) actually rolled back some important sanctions on trade with Russia. People might be missing the bigger story here as they fall for the Trump con on sanctions.
Before I get into the update I would like to announce a special Substack Live tomorrow (Monday December 22) which will be held at 4pm CET and 10am EST. I will be talking with General Volodymyr Havrylov (retd). Volodomyr was a Ukrainian Air Force general and also served as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 2022-2023. He was thus a pivotal figure in this early phase of the war and since then has worked tirelessly supporting the Ukrainian war effort from a range of positions. We will survey the war from the full-scale invasion and then go into detail about where the war is today. Volodymyr has an understanding that I believe you should all hear, about Ukrainian strategy, how the land and air wars are developing, why all the harping on Ukrainian manpower is so odd, and how Ukraine still can win the war. Hope to see you there.
This talk comes appropriately right after Professor Timothy Snyder and I, on Friday, did a broad lens overview Substack Live on the period from 2022 to today. Our talk looked at US policy towards Ukraine, Ukraine’s power of resistance and the enduring and distressing power of the pro-Russian narrative. If you want to see/hear those, you can access them here. Note, because of some technical difficulties, the session ended up being recorded in two parts.
And now, time for the update.
Ukraine Is Winning The War At Sea
While the Russian Army lost another few thousands soldiers taking empty fields, you might have missed one of the most important stories of the last week. This was that the Ukrainians on December 15 attacked and seriously damaged a Russian improved Kilo class diesel submarine in the
...This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.