Putin forced to move last patrol ship from Crimea after devastating air strikes from Ukraine spark retreat

Earlier this month, Ukraine's navy chief Vice-Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa said Russia had been forced to rebase nearly all its combat-ready warships from the peninsula.

And in a defiant statement on Monday, Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said: "The last patrol ship of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is bolting from our Crimea just now. Remember this day."

When asked to clarify whether this was a permanent move, Pletenchuk said: "Most likely, this is a transition between bases", adding that Moscow did not usually send ships out into the open for no reason.

Pletenchuk also confirmed the ship was a Project 1135 Krivak-class frigate - a patrol vessel used by the Russian navy since 1970.

Despite having no major warships at its disposal, Ukraine has used missiles and naval drones to great effect in its campaign against the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which has been headquartered in the Crimean port of Sevastopol since the region's annexation by Russia in 2014.

Vice-Admiral Neizhpapa said Ukrainian forces had destroyed or damaged as many as 27 Russian naval vessels - with warships, minesweepers and small patrol boats alike all sunk since Russia's February 2022 invasion.

MORE BLACK SEA BATTLES:

• Russian navy dealt devastating blow as Ukrainian missiles destroy key Black Sea minesweeper
  
• Putin loses even MORE Black Sea vessels as Ukraine's drones target speedboats and ferries
  
• Humiliation for Putin after Ukraine strikes prized Russian warship which survived both World Wars
  

In May, Ukrainian authorities said they had destroyed the last cruise missile-armed Russian warship stationed in Crimea - but Vladimir Putin has remained bullish on Russia's hopes.

Just last month, Putin told navy chiefs that Russia's fleet had been replenished over recent years and that a major modernisation programme was underway, including steps to "increase the combat stability of the fleet".

And his forces have continued to grind away at Ukraine's eastern front - Russia's Defence Ministry said on Sunday that its troops had taken the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine's Donetsk region, which - if confirmed - would be the latest in a series of Russian gains since it captured the strategic town of Avdiivka in February.

The chief of Russia's general staff, Valery Gerasimov, thanked Russian forces on Tuesday for taking the village - and, in an ominous warning, set "new targets" for Russian troops, but declined to detail just what those targets would entail.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces at war have also got a record heatwave to contend with - which is taking its civilian toll, too.

Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo has started emergency shutdowns in seven of the country's regions, while Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy sector have caused blackouts across the country - forcing Ukraine to start importing electricity from the EU.

And Russia's continued campaign may finally force Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's hand; yesterday, he said he was looking to have a plan ready by November to hold a second international summit on his vision of peace in Ukraine.

Zelensky added that he thought Russian representatives should be present - a change in tack from last month, when Russia had not been invited to a 92-country-strong peace summit in Switzerland.