As the war between Russia and Ukraine began, the very notion of a country squaring off against the towering might of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was beyond imagination.However, by December 2023, Russia’s vaunted fleet had been blindsided, losing over 20 warships to Ukraine’s audacious assaults. This string of setbacks sent the once-dominant Russian fleet scrambling for cover, battered and bruised.With the Black Sea’s strategic waters slipping like sand through their fingers, the Russian Navy found itself cornered, pushed into adopting wildly unconventional tactics in a frantic attempt to shield the remnants of its fleet from further devastation.The latest twist came to light through recent footage showcased on a state-run TV channel as part of a war propaganda blitz. It captured the Delta-IV class nuclear ballistic missile submarine Tula, sporting an odd appendage on its conning tower—an action widely interpreted as a sign of desperation, a final attempt to dodge the now accurate and relentless Ukrainian strikes.—