Blasts at the Saky air base in the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula earlier this month have put more than half of the Russian Black Sea fleet's naval aviation combat jets out of use.
A Western official stated this on condition of anonymity, the CFTS portal reports, citing the Reuters news agency.
"We now assess that the events at the Saky airfield on 9 August put more than half of the Black Sea fleet's naval aviation combat jets out of use," the official said.
He added that the Black Sea fleet was struggling to function much more than "a coast defense flotilla" that just occasionally conducted missile strikes and that its attempt to threaten an amphibious assault on Odesa had been stymied.
