Ukraine would win war faster if it could fire British weapons into Russia – navy chief

The sea war has two goals – to stop the Russian navy from being able to attack Ukraine and to enable ships to access Ukrainian ports, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa says to Sky News.

The course of the entire conflict would have been very different had Ukrainian forces been allowed to use Western munitions without restrictions from the very beginning.

"We must have the capabilities to make sure that Russia will give up forever the thought of even looking in Ukraine's direction, including at sea." 

Ukraine's successes during 2022 and 2023 were a result of difficult but innovative decisions, which did not exist before, the naval commander said.

However, given the war's duration, the previous methods may no longer work.

"A modern war is a war of technologies. Whoever wins in the technological sense will have victory." 

Ukraine would win the war faster if it had permission to fire British and other Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia.

Russia uses the Black and Azov Seas for its military purposes.

However, its dominance in the Black Sea was reduced after the liberation of the Snake (Zmiinyi) Island.

After Moscow withdrew from the grain deal, civilian shipping was threatened again. In recent months, Ukraine has managed to break through the Russian blockade of the Black Sea. Civilian ships carrying Ukrainian grain have started to leave the ports of the Odesa region.

The Ukrainian attacks were able to clear a sea lane of up to 200 miles from the coast, creating a safe shipping corridor.