War in Ukraine Slowing Moscow's Drive to Regain Blue Water Navy Able to Challenge the West

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Jan. 10 – A decade ago, Russia was on its way to losing any pretense to having a blue water navy, that is a stock of capital ships capable of operating far from the Russian coast (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2016/12/russian-blue-water-navy-in-reality-now.html, windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2017/04/moscow-can-no-longer-afford-blue-water.html  and windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2017/12/russias-surface-navy-on-its-way-to.html).
    Now, given Putin’s geopolitical ambitions, Moscow is seeking to recover that capacity under the direction of Nikolay Patrushev, former secretary of the Russian Security Council who now heads the Naval Collegium (windowoneurasia2.blogspot.com/2024/11/patrushev-denounces-western-moves-on.html).
    One sign of this is that the Russian navy is sending its still restricted number of capital ships on ever longer voyages in order to show the flag while it works to overcome the problems in this sector and especially its shipbuilding branch given both corruption and sanctions (thebarentsobserver.com/news/northern-fleet-gives-priority-to-faraway-voyages/422736).
    Another indication is its refitting of older ships with nuclear power and more modern electronic systems, although that approach can only go so far given the age of the ships involved like the Admiral Nakhimov in drydock since 1999 (meduza.io/news/2025/01/11/na-kreysere-admiral-nahimov-zapustili-yadernyy-reaktor-korabl-remontiruyut-s-1999-goda).
    As long as the war in Ukraine continues, Moscow has little choice but to use this tactic, yet another indication that that conflict by itself is preventing the Kremlin from developing the kind of deep water navy that could challenge the US and other Western powers in key parts of the world’s oceans.