Military developments in the Black Sea accompanied by hyperbolic statements from Russian officials highlight growing fears in the Kremlin over Russia’s future.

With a new spike in the COVID-19 pandemic rolling across Russia and economic conditions deteriorating on the eve of the September parliamentary elections, President Vladimir Putin needs foreign scapegoats to keep the masses in line. Hence why the Black Sea has become a major focus of Kremlin pressure and propaganda in recent weeks. It’s a centerpiece of the Kremlin’s desire to expand its territorial and maritime dominance. By seizing Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, Moscow claimed Ukraine’s territorial waters. It now uses the peninsula to build up its military capabilities and threaten all littoral states. The only factor restraining further attacks on Ukraine and Georgia is the presence of NATO forces led by the United States.