Wednesday Briefing

President Vladimir Putin of Russia with Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, in July.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Russia fired its top naval commander

The Kremlin fired its top naval commander after a series of devastating attacks by Ukraine on Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, according to Ukrainian and Western officials and reports in Russian and Western news outlets.

The commander, Adm. Nikolai Yevmenov, was removed from his post and replaced by the head of Russia’s Northern Fleet. The Russian government declined to confirm whether there had been any personnel changes.

U.S. officials believe that Ukraine has sunk 15 Russian ships in the past six months, surprising victories considering that Ukraine does not have a traditional navy. Instead, Ukraine has used sea drones and missiles to strike Russian ships.

Ukraine estimates that a third of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, which once numbered 80 ships, has been destroyed since the war began two years ago. European officials have said that the naval victories have reopened the western Black Sea, allowing Ukraine to again ship grain from Odesa.

More news from Ukraine and Russia:

• The Biden administration announced a plan to send $300 million in weapons to Ukraine.

• The chief of staff to Aleksei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who died last month, was attacked with a hammer and tear gas and injured outside his home in Lithuania.

• Electronic countermeasures have become one of the Russian military’s most formidable weapons, and a challenge for Ukraine’s drone operators.