The Ukrainian navy, which has no large front-line ships, keeps sinking and blowing up Russian vessels.
Their most recent survey, published this week, should encourage advocates of a free Ukraine—and worry proponents of Russian aggression.
In 2023, the Russian navy added just 6,300 tons and ended the year with a total tonnage of 2,152,000.
In losing nearly as much tonnage as it built in 2023, the Russian navy joins an exclusive and embarrassing club of stagnant or shrinking navies.
The Russian navy is the only navy that can’t manage to grow mostly because it keeps losing ships in combat.
Today, Russian shipyards still manage to build large submarines, but they struggle to build surface warships heavier than a few thousand tons.
A fleet with no large ships keeps destroying as much tonnage as the Russians manage to build. »
