While Russian forces have moved the bulk of Black Sea Fleet (BSF) assets away from occupied Sevastopol, the BSF maintains a limited naval presence in Sevastopol, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) note.

With reference to the published satellite images from December 20, it is reported that two Ropucha-class landing ships, one Krivak-class frigate, and the Matros Koshka bulk carrier remain at the otherwise empty BSF frigate pier in southern Sevastopol. “It appears that Russian forces have rebuilt many of the defenses at the entrance of Sevastopol Harbor following a powerful Black Sea cyclone at the end of November,” the message reads.

The satellite imagery additionally shows that one Ropucha-class landing ship, one Natya-class minesweeper, one Alexandrit-class minesweeper, and the Ivan Khurs Ivanov-class intelligence ship remain at the pier at Pivdenna Bay, but that the submarine pen is empty. The satellite imagery confirms the absence of several major BSF naval assets, including specialized Kalibr cruise missile carriers, from the docks at Sevastopol, which supports ISW's assessment that Russia has moved many major BSF assets out of Sevastopol to Novorossiysk on an enduring basis.

At the same time, it does not appear to be undergoing renovations following a massive Ukrainian strike on the headquarters on September 22.

The ISW report that Russia's Black Sea Fleet's 810th Naval Infantry Brigade confirmed that it is deliberately using chemical weapons against Ukrainian forces in an apparent violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, to which Russia is a party.

“The 810th Naval Infantry Brigade published a long post to its Telegram channel on December 22 detailing a ‘radical change in tactics’ that the brigade is using against Ukrainian forces in Krynky (on the eastern bank of Kherson region). The post claimed that elements of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade rotated into the Krynky area and are applying the new tactic of ‘dropping K-51 grenades from drones’ onto Ukrainian positions to smoke Ukrainian forces out of their positions and expose them to fire from various arms. “K-51 aerosol grenades are filled with irritant CS gas (2-Chlorobenzalmalononitrile), a type of tear gas used for riot control (also known as a Riot Control Agent [RCA]),” the message reads.

ISW previously observed that Russian forces used K-51 grenades against Ukrainian positions in Donetsk region in November 2022.