Ukraine hits Russian naval vessels and an air defence system in Crimea strikes

A Ukrainian missile strike on a shipyard in occupied Crimea has severely damaged and possibly destroyed a Russian amphibious landing ship and a Kilo-class submarine, satellite footage shows.

If confirmed, the direct hit to the vessels in Sevastopol on Wednesday would mark one of the most devastating strikes against the Russian navy in the war, and the largest since the sinking of the Moskva guided missile cruiser in 2022.

In a second day of strikes in Crimea, Ukrainian forces claimed to have destroyed an S-400 air defence system on Thursday. Video published on social media showed large explosions near Yevpatoriya, on the occupied peninsula’s south-west coast, where Ukraine said Russia had stationed the air defence system. The results of the strike have not been independently confirmed.

💥 Massive strike against Russian forces in Yevpatoriya, occupied Crimea, on the coast 40 miles north of Sevastopol. pic.twitter.com/rMrvcIxYoJ

— Igor Sushko (@igorsushko) September 14, 2023

The earlier Ukrainian cruise missile strike that hit a shipyard in Crimea on Wednesday caused large explosions at a major centre for the construction and repair of vessels in the Russian Black Sea fleet. The damage to the ships could disable the local dry docks until the debris is cleared.

“Satellite imagery published on September 12 shows one Ropucha-class landing ship and one Kilo-class submarine at the dry dock, and satellite imagery published on September 13 shows that the Ukrainian missile strike likely destroyed the two vessels,” wrote the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington DC-based thinktank that regularly publishes analysis of the conflict.

Russian military officials said two vessels were hit in the attack and the scope of the damage was unclear. A Ukrainian military intelligence official claimed the strike may have destroyed several ships.

“Considerable damage has been inflicted and we can now say that the vessels are most likely not recoverable,” Andriy Yusov, a Ukrainian military intelligence spokesperson, said in a televised interview. “Yes, today there’s good news – the destruction of the large enemy landing ship … as well as the Kalibr-carrying submarine, which is very important.”

Satellite footage of the shipyard published late on Wednesday showed severe damage to the Minsk, a Ropucha-class amphibious ship, and to the Rostov-na-Donu, an improved Kilo-class submarine. The submarine is capable of carrying Kalibr cruise missiles, which have been fired regularly by Black Sea fleet ships in attacks on Ukraine.

The ISW wrote: “The apparent destruction of the two vessels will likely render the dry dock inoperable until Russian forces can clear the debris, which may take a significant amount of time. The extent of the damage to repair facilities beyond the dry dock is unclear, and any damage to one of the Russian Black Sea fleet’s main repair facilities in occupied Crimea will likely have reverberating impacts in the event of further [Ukrainian] strikes on Russian naval assets.”