 Russia's Black Sea war plan isn't working. UK. Russia's tactics against Ukraine's creative warfare in the Black Sea are falling short, according to a new assessment as Moscow and Kiev step into the third year of all-out war. According to Newsweek, Russia can still strike at Ukraine from the eastern parts of the Black Sea, but it is increasingly evident that the defensive posture adopted to mitigate against Ukraine's non-conventional approach to maritime warfare is not working, as intended, the British Defence Ministry said. It is noted that shortly after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Black Sea emerged as a key battleground between Kiev and Moscow. Ukraine has vowed to reclaim Crimea, which sits to the south of the mainland on the Black Sea, but has been controlled by the Kremlin's forces since its annexation in 2014. Ukraine does not have a large navy, but has made impressive use of naval drones to carry out dramatic strikes on Russia's Black Sea assets that have proved deeply embarrassing to Moscow. Russia's Black Sea operations have been greatly complicated, if not paralyzed, by the nearly two years of all-out war between Moscow and Kiev, Ukraine's navy said in early February. Ukrainian-designed Magura V-5 naval drones attacked and destroyed Russia's Caesar-Kunikov large landing ship near the southern Crimean city of Alupka, southeast of Russia's naval base at Sevastopol, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said earlier this month. Russia has lost a slew of other vessels, including its Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, several other landing ships, and a submarine. Ukraine has used uncrewed vehicles and guided missiles to push Russian threat perception to new highs and force Moscow to shift many of its assets further east, away from mainland Ukraine, the UK government evaluated. The Kremlin has relocated some of its Black Sea assets from the peninsula to its Novorossiysk base in Russia's Krasnodar region further from Ukraine's coastline. Russia is also thought to be establishing another Black Sea base in Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognised as part of Georgia. This would move Russia's resources in the Black Sea even further away from Ukraine's reach. British citizenship offer to Russian defectors will make Putin paranoid. Russian officials appalled by the war in Ukraine are being offered British citizenship to defect and pass secrets to UK intelligence agencies. Three UK intelligence sources and a former Russian informant have told iNews media outlet that British citizenship and cash payments are being used by UK government agencies in certain circumstances to persuade disgruntled members of Vladimir Putin's regime to hand information to the UK. It comes after the head of MI6 last year issued a public plea to Russians angry with the invasion to join hands with the UK and share secrets to help end the war in Ukraine. The UK's offer of British citizenship to Russian defectors who hand over secret intelligence is a weapon of psychological warfare against Vladimir Putin that will make him paranoid, a former foreign office expert has said. Professor Mark Galliotti, now a senior associate fellow at Defence Think Tank, Royal United Services Institute and director of Russia-focused research firm Mayak Intelligence said that the tool would not only bring in intelligence sources, but make Putin paranoid. He said the citizenship deals were a two-pronged attack. On one hand, and this is something Putin must be worried about, there is a possibility precisely of people wanting to defect or pass information to the Brits in the hope of getting this particular advantage of citizenship, he said. But on the other hand, the very paranoia that it engenders within the hearts of Putin and his fellow security state figures is also a useful weapon, because it will mean they will look as scants at officials who perhaps have travelled to Britain in the past or have other connections like that. So these kind of overtures are often part of psychological warfare operations to spread divisions and suspicion within the Russian elite. Ukraine ready for war with China if US asks? Ukrainian MP Kiev is ready to assist the US in a war against any enemy, be it Iran, North Korea or China, Alexei Goncharenko, a senior Ukrainian MP has said, claiming that his country would prove to be a valuable military ally. In an interview with CNN, Alexei Goncharenko doubled down on calls for the US to send Ukraine more military aid amid gridlock in Congress. The United States of America told us that we will be with you as long as it takes. Now it's time to keep the promises. Goncharenko rebuked US politicians for focusing too much on the looming 2024 presidential election, saying Ukraine should not be a victim of this. He also claimed that supporting Ukraine serves Washington's interests, regardless of who wins the race for the White House. In the event of a future war, the Americans will need people who will stand shoulder to shoulder with them, but not many nations would be willing to go all in to support the US, the lawmaker said. Ukrainians are ready. We are ready to stand with the United States shoulder to shoulder, either in trenches near Tehran or in North Korea or near Beijing. No difference, he stated, because we appreciate your support. Despite his plea for more Western military aid, Goncharenko argued that Ukraine has the second strongest army in the free world after the US, making it a very valuable ally. But today we need your support to defend our country. He added blaming gaps and delays in arms shipments for the loss of the strategic Donbas city of Avdivka last week.