Navy & Naval Infantry
A small navy that has nonetheless pushed the Black Sea Fleet back from the northwest.
Broad area of activity
The northwestern Black Sea littoral and the Dnipro estuary; naval infantry brigades committed to land fighting along the southern front.
Notable history
Lost most of its conventional fleet in 2014 with Crimea and scuttled its flagship in 2022 — then achieved what navies with fleets rarely do: the Neptune strike on the cruiser Moskva and the drone campaign that followed (much of it run by intelligence services rather than the navy proper) pushed the Black Sea Fleet out of the northwestern Black Sea. Naval infantry brigades have fought as ground troops throughout.
Strengths
Sea denial without capital ships — coastal missiles, naval drones and maritime patrol aviation in place of a fleet; the doctrinal example other small navies now study.
Limitations
No blue-water capability and no prospect of one; naval infantry used as line infantry carries the same attrition as everyone else; corvette programmes abroad (Türkiye) advance slowly relative to the war's tempo.