According to Ukrinform, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said this in a televised interview.

"They are now reducing the number of conventional drones they use and effectively increasing the number of jet-powered drones. In other words, the Russians are now primarily betting on them," the spokesman said.

He stressed that "the Air Force is constantly operating in the south, and this is actually noticeable as well."

According to Pletenchuk, ballistic missiles remain the main challenge.

Asked whether Ukraine had definitively deprived Russia's Black Sea Fleet of operational control over the Black Sea, Pletenchuk said the Russians believe they still exercise such control.

"But if we look exclusively at the situation regarding their vessels going out to sea, there are none. The Sea of Azov is out of the question altogether, and the same is effectively true of the Black Sea. However, Russian aircraft are still present, and that is certainly a problem because, at the very least, they have the ability to conduct reconnaissance and make the sea dangerous in this way," he said.

Asked whether Russian forces can repair and maintain their warships in Sevastopol, the spokesman said such facilities exist on the peninsula, but the Russians are reluctant to enter Crimea and carry out repairs because they have already "learned what such repairs end up with."

"And that is that the Navy and the Armed Forces of Ukraine add the finishing touches to these repairs. So, in principle, they periodically move the ships between bays to prevent them from being destroyed. This is a practice they use," Pletenchuk said.

According to him, Novorossiysk has some repair facilities, but using them is very risky "because the ship then becomes a stationary target." "So, in practice, no one is doing that there either," the spokesman said.

Speaking about the destruction of Russia's smaller naval vessels, such as Raptor and Grachonok-class boats, Pletenchuk said these vessels come within range of Ukrainian weapons during rotation operations near occupied coastal spits.

"And they are periodically caught there. Sometimes they even turn back on the way... But such targets also have some value as vessels for patrolling and protecting the waters. The Russians are not using any other means for this at the moment. So, when they come within range, they are destroyed or struck accordingly. Because there are other targets that are no less important now," he said.