One of the most unexpected developments of the full-scale invasion was how many big, expensive Russian ships were taken out by Ukraine, a country that technically has no navy. Around 20% of Russia’s Black Sea fleet has been destroyed as of December 2023, according to National Security and Defense Council head Oleksii Danilov. Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk on Nov. 17 said that Ukrainian forces have destroyed 15 Russian warships in the Black Sea and damaged 12 others since the start of the all-out war in February 2022.
Data gurus at Eurostat may have declared Bulgaria the unhappiest country in Europe after a recent poll, but the survey – which analysed levels of life satisfaction across the continent – only tells part of the story.