Commentary argues Russia no longer needs Black Sea Fleet or Sevastopol base.

Text of report by Russian Gazeta.ru news website, often critical of the government, on 4 August

[Article by Yevgeniy Trifonov: "Russia's Superfluous Fleet"]

Russia does not need a strong fleet in the Black Sea: The only conflict that could arise there is with NATO, and our fleet would have no chance of success even if it was armed with aircraft carriers and battleships. Therefore we should leave Sevastopol and explain honestly to citizens why we are doing so.

The tension surrounding the Russian Federation Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol is escalating from day to day: Ahead of the parade in honour of Navy Day, held on the last Sunday in July, Ukrainian traffic cops halted convoys of Russian armoured equipment, while Kiev instructed Russian Embassy Counselor Vladimir Lysenko, who was responsible specifically for Navy issues, to leave the country. The debate over whether the Black Sea Fleet should be tolerated in Sevastopol until 2017 or driven out earlier has broken out in the Ukrainian press with renewed force, while Navy Commander in Chief Admiral Vladimir Vysotskiy asserts that it is expedient for Russia to keep part of the fleet there even after that date. It is not surprising that the Russian television channels accompanied their shots of the parade with gloomy commentaries on how Sevastopol was besieged by enemies both in the Crimean War and in the Great Patriotic War, and now once again, apparently, the city is under siege...

Despite the arrival of new ships, the condition of the Black Sea Fleet remains lamentable: It is still stronger than the Ukrainian or Georgian fleet, but the Turkish fleet has long surpassed it in terms of combat potential. But since all the Black Sea countries except Russia are …