Ukraine "Russian Submarine Docked in Crimea Sunk"

Possible First Sinking of Russian Black Sea Fleet Submarine

Ukraine claimed to have sunk a Russian submarine docked in the Crimean Peninsula.

On the 3rd (local time), according to major foreign media including the British BBC, the Ukrainian General Staff issued a statement saying that the day before, they sank the Russian Kilo-class attack submarine 'Rostov-on-Don,' which was docked at the port of Sevastopol in the Crimean Peninsula, with a missile. The Crimean Peninsula is Ukrainian territory forcibly annexed by Russia in 2014.

Launched in 2014, this submarine is known to be one of the four submarines in the Russian Black Sea Fleet capable of launching Kalibr cruise missiles.

If Ukraine's claim is correct, this would be the first sinking of a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine. Russia has not issued any related statements. Ukraine also said that the attack destroyed four launchers of the S-400 air defense system in the Crimean Peninsula.

British intelligence agencies analyzed last September that the Rostov-on-Don had suffered significant damage from a Ukrainian missile attack while undergoing maintenance at the Sevastopol shipyard.

The Ukrainian military believes that Russia repaired this submarine and recently conducted test runs near the Sevastopol port. The Ukrainian General Staff claimed, "This once again proves that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in Ukraine's territorial waters of the Black Sea."

Earlier, in March, Ukraine also reported striking two Russian landing ships and one patrol boat at the Sevastopol port. Since Russia's invasion in February 2022, Ukraine claims to have sunk or severely damaged at least 15 Russian warships.

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.