The British Defense Ministry shared its regular report on Twitter.
British intelligence recalled that on June 17, the Ukrainian military announced the first successful use of Western-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles to defeat Russian naval forces. The target of the attack was the Russian Vasily Bekh naval tug, which transported weapons and personnel to Zmiinyi island.
The destruction of the Russian ship demonstrated the difficulties Russia faced in trying to maintain their forces on the island. After all, this is another Russian ship that was damaged or destroyed during the war in Ukraine.
"Ukrainian coastal defence capability has largely neutralised Russia's ability to establish sea control and project maritime force in the north-western Black Sea. This has undermined the viability of Russia's original operational design for the invasion, which involved holding the Odesa region at risk from the sea," the UK intelligence added.