According to a September 15 British Ministry of Defense intelligence report, the Russian landing ship Minsk was most likely “functionally destroyed” in the latest attack on the Sevmorsavod shipyard in occupied Crimea.
The Ropukha-class ship “Minsk” and the Kilo-class submarine “Rostov-on-Don” were hit in a September 13 attack on the ship repair facility in Sevastopol. According to the British Ministry of Defense report, the submarine most likely suffered “catastrophic damage,” and efforts to make it operational again would likely take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. According to Ukrainian military intelligence, the attack damaged not only the two docked vessels, but also Sevmorsavod’s infrastructure, such as The Kyiv Independent reported. The British analysis added that the dry docks are expected to be out of service for months until the wreckage is removed.
The British ministry stressed the importance of the naval facility for Black Sea Fleet maintenance purposes, as well as the value of Rostov-on-Don, one of the fleet’s four missile-capable submarines, which has played a significant role in attacks on Ukraine.
After Russia unilaterally terminated the grain agreement, hostilities escalated in the Black Sea.
Image: kremlin.ru, 2018 inauguration of Vladimir Putin 53, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
