Satellite imagery shared by British defense officials has shown the extent of the damage caused by Ukraine’s latest strikes on Russian Black Sea Fleet targets.
Despite having only a small navy, Ukraine has used missiles and naval drones to great effect against Russia’s navy since the start of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
These attacks have increased in frequency in recent months as it looks to fulfill one of its war aims to reclaim Crimea, which Putin illegally annexed in 2014.
The Ukrainian military said it attacked on March 24 two large Russian landing ships, the Ropucha-class vessels the Yamal and the Azov, berthed in Sevastopol.
A communications hub and other infrastructure in the port city were also struck, Kyiv said, without specifying how it hit the targets.
A Moscow-installed official in the city said there had been a major Ukrainian air attack but air defenses managed to shoot down more than 10 missiles.
The U.K. Ministry of Defense posted on X pictures it said showed the aftermath of the strikes, and compared Russia’s Black Sea Fleet communications center with what it looked like on January 1. An image from March 24 shows structural damage to one building which included a partial roof collapse. Blast damage could also been seen on two additional buildings.
Another image shows the damage caused to the two Ropucha-class landing ships, tanks as well as the Yury Ivanov-class intelligence ship.
In its update, British defense officials said that strikes like these had forced Russia to move its higher naval assets from Sevastopol to alternative port facilities further east.
“Despite Russia’s attempts to limit its losses, Ukraine continues to demonstrate success in diminishing the Black Sea Fleet’s ability to project power in the region,” said the update, which tends to emphasize Russian losses and Kyiv’s gains.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
The threat posed by Ukraine has forced Moscow to shift much of its Black Sea Fleet towards Novorossiysk, in Russia’s Krasnodar region, hampering Moscow’s ability to operate in the western part of the sea.
However, Ukrainian officials says this port has inferior facilities to Sevastopol which Moscow’s forces still have to use for some activities, such as reloading Kalibr missile systems on vessels.
In another assessment this month, the British Defense Ministry said Russia was painting decoy submarines on the side of quays at its Black Sea ports in a bid to disguise them from Ukrainian drone operators.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.