Ukraine's attacks in Crimea are having major psychological and operational effects on Moscow's forces, Western officials have said.

The explosions at the Saki airbase on August 9 and other attacks have put more than half of the Black Sea fleet's seaplanes out of action, they said.

The fleet has an honorable history, but has suffered a series of humiliations since the invasion began in February, reports the Telegraph.

Officials said the obstacles have forced him to take a defensive stance.

In March, the flagship of the fleet, the Moskva, was sunk off Ukraine.

The 510-man missile carrier had led Russia's naval assault on Ukraine, and its sinking was a major symbolic and military blow.

At the time, the Russian defense ministry said munitions aboard the Moskva exploded in an unexplained fire and the ship capsized as it was being towed into port.

In June, the fleet suffered another embarrassment when it was forced to abandon Snake Island, a small camp in the northwest Black Sea seized by Russia on the first day of its invasion, after coming under sustained Ukrainian bombardment.

In recent weeks, the fleet home on the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, has been attacked by Ukrainian forces.

At least eight fighter jets were destroyed in the bombing of Saki Air Base on 9 August.

After the attacks, many vacationers were seen fleeing the peninsula, which was previously untouched by the fighting.

Images obtained by the BBC showed traffic queues on roads leading out of Crimea three days after the attack.

The August 9 attacks were not the only notable Ukrainian attacks in Crimea.

In July, Russian officials claimed that a Ukrainian drone strike forced an end to Navy Day celebrations in Sevastopol, and on August 16 there were explosions at weapons depots on the peninsula.