Russian President Vladimir Putin’s navy recently withdrew three large landing ships from the Black Sea after a series of attacks on the Russian fleet, a Ukrainian military official said on Saturday.
Ukrainian navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told a Ukrainian television station that Russia moved the ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov.
Pletanchuk’s claims could not be independently verified Weekly newspaperThis follows recent attacks on the Russian Navy’s Black Sea Fleet that targeted a large ship and a submarine at a key naval base in Sevastopol, Crimea.
Photos and video footage of Wednesday morning’s attack in Sevastopol show a fire in the dry dock area, reports show minsk toad-class large landing ship and rostov-on-don kilo-class attack submarine was seriously damaged.
Photograph: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP, Getty Images
“These processes related to the liberation of our territories will continue in the future,” Pletenchuk said in a television interview, according to a translation by Ukrainian news outlet Ukrainian Pravda.
He added: “By the way, it is very telling that today the Russian invaders moved three large landing ships from the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov for some reason.”
Weekly newspaper The Russian Defense Ministry was contacted for comment via email.
Pletenchuk mentioned in the interview Minsk It said the ship was beyond repair due to damage caused by recent attacks and the age of its hull.Ukrainian officials also said Minsk Part of the “Syria Express”, it said it was used to provide weapons and logistical support for Moscow’s military operations in Syria.
He noted that the submarine was not believed to be in an irreparable condition and was believed to be the first Russian submarine lost to the Ukrainian military.
Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Friday that while the Russian Ministry of Defense had been “downplaying damage to the ship, public evidence showed Minsk has almost certainly been functionally broken, and Rostov Probably suffered catastrophic damage. “
“Any effort to return the submarine to service is likely to take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars,” the MoD wrote in the latest intelligence update. “The complex task of removing the wreckage from dry dock is likely to keep them in service for months.” cannot be used within the [Black Sea Fleet] There are significant challenges in maintaining fleet maintenance. “
