Russian Warships Withdrawn and Evacuations Ordered Amid Tensions with Ukraine

Russian warships are being moved from their traditional Crimean home base Sevastopol to safer waters in Russia due to fears of Ukrainian strikes and precision-guided weapons hitting the fleet. The naval high command is re-basing Black Sea Fleet vessels assigned to Sevastopol to the port Novorossisk on the eastern Black Sea coast. The Kremlin is deeply concerned that Ukrainian troops advancing in the upcoming Spring offensive will make Sevastopol port in Crimea too dangerous for the Russian navy to use. Ukraine's military is known to operate domestically developed Neptune anti-ship missiles and US-developed Harpoon anti-ship missiles.