Russia has lost another two of its amphibious vessels in the Black Sea, according to Ukraine, the latest high-profile and bruising loss to Moscow’s fleet in the region at Kyiv’s hands.
Ukraine’s military said on Sunday that it had successfully attacked two of Russia’s large landing ships, the Yamal and the Azov, and a communications hub in the Crimean city of Sevastopol as well as other, unspecified infrastructure facilities.
Russian-installed authorities in the port city said Ukraine had launched a “massive” missile strike on Sevastopol, but that air defenses had intercepted the missiles.
The loss of two more Ropucha-class landing ships adds to the punishing losses Ukraine has inflicted on Russia’s Black Sea fleet based at the Crimean peninsula. Moscow has controlled Crimea for a decade, but Ukraine has vowed to reclaim the territory.
YURIY LASHOV/AFP via Getty Images
Kyiv has a small navy, but has wielded naval drones and long-range missile strikes to great effect against Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, including its landing ships. Ukraine has taken out several of Moscow’s landing ships, including the Ropucha-class Caesar Kunikov in mid-February.
Shortly after the loss of the Caesar Kunikov, Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s navy, said Russia had just five of its 13 Ropucha-class landing ships remaining in the Black Sea.
In early August 2023, Ukraine said its naval drones struck the Olenegorsky Gornyak, damaging the landing vessel.
In September 2023, Kyiv targeted the Ropucha-class Minsk with cruise missiles. Ukraine’s military then said in late December 2023 that it had destroyed Russia’s Novocherkassk landing ship in the eastern Crimean port of Feodosia. Moscow also lost its Tapir-class Saratov amphibious landing ship to Ukrainian missiles in the first weeks of the war.
Britain’s Defense Minister, Grant Shapps, said in late December that Russia had lost 20 percent of its Black Sea fleet in the previous four months.
Russia’s amphibious vessels are one of Ukraine’s many targets in the Black Sea. Kyiv has destroyed a Russian submarine, the Rostov-on-Don, and has taken out other vessels since the start of the year, such as a Russian patrol ship and a missile-armed corvette.
Kyiv’s strikes have jeopardized Russia’s grip on the area of the Black Sea closest to Ukraine. Moscow still largely dominates other areas of the sea, despite limiting its operations to the eastern part of the region after significant losses.
The Kremlin has relocated some of its Black Sea assets from Crimea to its Novorossiysk base in Russia’s Krasnodar region, further from Ukraine’s coastline. Moscow is also thought to be establishing another navy base in Abkhazia, a breakaway region internationally recognized as part of Georgia.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.