This one never even had a chance to fight. It was a brand new stealth ship capable of carrying up to 8 cruise missiles. Saturday night it was severely damaged to the point that it is probably scrap metal now.
Ukraine struck a new Russian missile carrier over the weekend, causing significant damage to the vessel before it had even had the chance to join the Black Sea Fleet, military officials said.
On Saturday evening, the commander of Ukraine’s air force, Mykola Oleshchuk, announced Ukraine had targeted the Zaliv shipyard in the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea.
His post hinted that French-supplied SCALP missiles, also known as Storm Shadow missiles, were used in the attack.
More from the Kyiv Post:
In his evening address on Monday, President Volodymyr Zelensky congratulated Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) for destroying the Askold, one of Russia’s Kalibr cruise missile carriers, over the weekend…
The destroyed ship, the Askold, was a relatively new Karakurt-class corvette, a class of warships introduced in 2018, designed for carrying Kalibr or Onyx anti-ship cruise missiles.
Here’s video of something burning at the site:
Russian media publish a video from Kerch in temporarily occupied Crimea.
Information also appeared that there were at least three strikes on Askold, a Rusaian small missile ship that was to the south of Kerch.
Waiting for official confirmation. pic.twitter.com/bDJJjWoUgZ
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) November 4, 2023
And here is video of the actual strike. It doesn’t look too bad from this side.
Момент влучання крилатих ракет StormShadow/Scalp EG по "Аскольду" в в Керчі
✈️🇺🇦🇬🇧🇨🇵🚀 pic.twitter.com/gPitSsQyDp
— MilitaryAviationInUa (@MilAviaUA) November 6, 2023
But looking from the other side we can see the ship has been gutted.
⚡️ Military: Russian ship Askold possibly beyond repair following Ukraine's strike.
The Russian Askold cruise missile carrier has suffered significant damage following Ukraine's strike on Crimea on Nov 4., possibly rendering it beyond repair, the Ukrainian military's Office of… pic.twitter.com/XPWcP2Jcfj
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) November 6, 2023
So add one more to the pile. Ukraine sank the flagship Moskva last spring.
This appears to be the first, unconfirmed video of the Moskva, Russia’s now-sunken Black Sea flagship, after it was hit by Ukrainian missiles.
It’s three seconds long and the last two are someone saying: “You fucking idiot! What the fuck are you doing?”
— max seddon (@maxseddon) April 18, 2022
Then it severely damaged the Olenegorsky Gornyak in August. Unlike the Moskva it didn’t sink but it was listing pretty heavily.
Ladies and gentlemen, the attack on the russian Black Sea flees was a success. 🇺🇦💪 pic.twitter.com/BiGEQe4rhu
— ✙🍒 Constantine 🍒✙ (@Teoyaomiquu) August 4, 2023
Then in September Ukraine hit two vessels, one ship and one Kilo class sub which was only launched in 2014.
🇷🇺 Photo of the damaged BDK "Minsk" in the Sevmorzavod dry dock pic.twitter.com/00TcXIZexJ
— Eureka news (@Eureka_News_ENG) September 13, 2023
They also hit the building used as the Black Sea Fleet headquarters.
Moment UK-Supplied Storm Shadow Missiles Fired By Ukrainian Forces Hit Russia's Black Sea Fleet HQ In Sevastopol, Crimea.
This is only the beginning.
The UK is giving Ukraine missiles to rip apart what it considers its own land. Its own people will be next. pic.twitter.com/oxthGSaCcb— Buadhach (@Siiktor) September 27, 2023
After that disaster, Russia relocated most of the Black Sea Fleet.
Russia has withdrawn the bulk of its Black Sea Fleet from its main base in occupied Crimea, a potent acknowledgment of how Ukrainian missile and drone strikes are challenging Moscow’s hold on the peninsula.
Russia has moved powerful vessels including three attack submarines and two frigates from Sevastopol to other ports in Russia and Crimea that offer better protection, according to Western officials and satellite images verified by naval experts. The Russian Defense Ministry didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Of course these attacks on Russian ships aren’t just symbolic. Many of the cruise missiles launched into Ukrainian territory come from Russian ships. Also, Russia uses the ships to cut of grain shipments leaving Ukraine.
In September, Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defense minister and now an adviser to the Defense Ministry, told Newsweek that the force’s destruction is a necessity for Kyiv.
“Their goal is basically to suffocate us economically,” Zagorodnyuk said. “The only way to get out of this situation is to destroy the Black Sea Fleet, to destroy their capability to pursue the occupation of the Black Sea and restore freedom of navigation.
“The only thing we can do is destroy the Black Sea Fleet and say that any new ship in the area will follow the previous ones,” Zagorodnyuk—who is now the chairman of the Centre for Defence Strategies think tank in Kyiv—added. “There’s no other option. And we should pursue that option until it’s done.”
This probably won’t be the last significant loss for Russia in the Black Sea.
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