Ukraine is keeping Russia from dominating the Black Sea, defense minister says

ODESA, UKRAINE - FEBRUARY 1: People spend time at the beach which usually crowded with tourists, now almost empty in Odesa, Ukraine on February 1, 2023. It is difficult to access to Black sea because of mines placed in the sand and water that have already taken the lives of several civilians. Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, the sea have turned into one of the war fronts. Despite this, there are those who stroll near the blue-green sea which the city overlooks to enjoy the pearl of the Black Sea while the tourists have just been replaced by displaced people of Ukraine evacuated from unsafe war-torn cities. (Photo by Gian Marco Benedetto/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Kyiv’s defense minister said Ukrainian forces have kept Russia from dominating the Black Sea when asked about the potential risk to southern Ukraine in a possible large-scale Russian counteroffensive.

“I really don’t like to make predictions or evaluate opinions, but in order for there to be a risk of capturing Odesa and the region in general, Russia must have dominance over the Black Sea,” Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said during a news conference Sunday. “But we deprived them of this opportunity.”

Reznikov gave an example of the Ukrainians using the Neptune, an anti-ship weapon developed in Ukraine, to target the Russian cruiser Moskva in 2022.

“Plus, the Harpoon anti-ship complexes are at work, so I don’t see any chances for them approaching Odesa from the sea,” the minister added.

Talking about the left-bank territories of southern Ukraine, Reznikov said the enemy “has an opportunity to replenish their groupings with weapons, equipment and people; therefore, the situation there is more tense.”