The biggest surprise in the war in Ukraine: Many Russian warships were destroyed?

Bất ngờ lớn nhất trong chiến sự Ukraine: Nhiều chiến hạm Nga bị phá hủy? - 1 — Russian Navy attacked by Ukraine (Photo: Telegram).

According to the head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksii Danilov, about 20% of Russia's Black Sea fleet has been destroyed as of December 2023.

Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said on November 17, 2023, that Ukrainian forces have destroyed 15 Russian warships in the Black Sea and damaged 12 others since the conflict began in February 2022. The landing ship Novocherkassk is the latest victim.

In addition to tapping into the Soviet arsenal, Ukraine also uses domestically developed Neptune cruise missiles and advanced naval drones, along with long-range missiles supplied by allies. As a result, the Russian Navy has strengthened its defenses and was forced to evacuate its warships away from the Ukrainian coast.

This allows Kiev to continue exporting agricultural products even after Russia withdraws from the Black Sea grain deal in July 2023. Experts call this one of the main achievements of Ukraine's attacks on the Russian navy.

In fact, Ukraine's agricultural and industrial exports by sea have returned to pre-conflict levels, Volodymyr Zablotskyi – a naval expert at the Defense Express think tank – told the Kyiv Independent .

Since Russia has moved its warships further east, Ukraine's air defenses now have more space to intercept sea-launched missiles targeting its cities and infrastructure, he said.

By weakening the Black Sea fleet, demoralizing its opponents and exposing their weaknesses, Ukraine shows that the Russian Navy is not as invincible as Moscow tries to claim.

According to Ukraine, here is a list of the most important Russian ships destroyed by Kiev, in chronological order.

Saratov

The landing ship Saratov was one of the first truly large ships lost by Russia. Ukrainian forces are believed to have sunk it with a Soviet Tochka-U ballistic missile on March 24, 2022, while it was docked at Berdiansk in Zaporizhia.

Russia would need ships like the Saratov to carry out its planned amphibious assault on Odessa to completely cut off Ukraine from the sea. Moscow was eventually forced to abandon the plan.

According to the Ukrainian military, the attack also damaged two other landing ships anchored nearby, the Novocherkassk, which Ukraine later destroyed, and the Caesar Kunikov.

Introduced in the 1960s, the Saratov has been used to support Russian operations in Syria and Georgia, as well as Crimea. It can carry up to 400 troops, plus 20 main battle tanks or 45 armored vehicles.

Moscow

The missile cruiser Moskva was the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet and a proud symbol of Russia's naval power in the region, until it was sunk on April 14, 2022.

Ukraine said it sank the $750 million cruiser with two Neptune missiles, killing an unknown number of its 500 crew.

It played a key role in the Russian naval offensive into Ukraine at the start of the 2022 special military operation and helped provide air cover for other Russian warships in the Black Sea and seize Snake Island.

Most famously, it was the ship that ordered the Ukrainian marines on the island to surrender, only to receive the reply: "Russian warship, go away!".

The destruction and sinking of the flagship Moskva was the first important step in lifting the Russian blockade of the Black Sea, paving the way for future Ukrainian success.

Bất ngờ lớn nhất trong chiến sự Ukraine: Nhiều chiến hạm Nga bị phá hủy? - 2 — The Moskva cruiser, flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was reportedly destroyed by Ukraine in April 2022 (Photo: OSINT).

Olegovsky Gornyak

With a length of 113m and a displacement of 3,600 tons, the Ropucha-class landing ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak became the second large Russian ship to be crippled or destroyed after the cruiser Moskva.

After attacks on Crimea became more frequent, Russia moved it to Novorossiysk in the Krasnodar region. However, this decision did not save the ship from being intercepted by Ukrainian unmanned boats at sea, which had to travel at least 600km to deliver the 450kg explosives.

The attack further degraded Russia's ability to transport military equipment and conduct amphibious operations.

Improved unmanned sea boats developed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) have been hunting the Black Sea fleet since October 2022. The attack on Novorossiysk showed that Russian ships are not safe even far from the Ukrainian coast.

Minsk and Rostov-on-Don

The September 13 attack, which disabled the Ropucha-class landing ship Minsk and crippled the Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don, was also Ukraine's first successful missile attack on Sevastopol in Crimea.

The missile targeted the Sevmorzavod shipyard, where two ships were docked for repairs or maintenance. Later, the long-range Storm Shadow missile is believed to have hit the Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Sevastopol and other Russian military targets in Crimea.

More than a month later, satellite images show Minsk has been dismantled, and Ukraine says the attack damaged it beyond repair.

The Rostov-on-Don - one of four missile-capable submarines in the Russian fleet - has suffered "severe damage", the Ministry of Defence said, adding that any attempt to return it to service would likely take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

According to a report by the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces, the attack on Sevmorzavod also caused 62 Russian casualties and damaged the facility's infrastructure, which could put it out of action for months.

Bất ngờ lớn nhất trong chiến sự Ukraine: Nhiều chiến hạm Nga bị phá hủy? - 3 — The Russian Kilo-class submarine Rostov-on-Don was destroyed by Ukraine in Sevastopol (Photo: UP).

Askold

Askold, a missile frigate built with advanced stealth technology, was destroyed by Ukraine at the Kerch shipyard before it could be put into service.

At least three Storm Shadow/SCALP missiles are believed to have struck the shipyard located just over 6km south of the Kerch bridge on November 4, 2023, making it the “furthest east in Crimea than most long-range strikes previously claimed by Ukraine.”

The ship can carry up to eight Kalibr cruise missiles or Oniks supersonic anti-ship missiles. Its destruction means Russia will have one less platform to attack Ukrainian cities, infrastructure and shipping.

Bất ngờ lớn nhất trong chiến sự Ukraine: Nhiều chiến hạm Nga bị phá hủy? - 4 — The Russian Navy's Project 22800 Karakurt-class missile frigate Askold was destroyed by Ukraine (Photo: Ukrainian Ministry of Defense).

Novocherkassk

According to Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat, the Novocherkassk ship dates back to the Soviet era and was designed for amphibious landings, but Russia ultimately did not land troops in southern Ukraine, instead using it to transport soldiers and military equipment to the Zaporizhia region.

Ukraine hit the ship with a cruise missile as it docked at the port of Feodosia in Crimea on December 26, 2023. According to Ukrainian military officials, a powerful secondary explosion suggested that the Novocherkassk was carrying explosives, rendering it inoperable.

Russia has tried to downplay the damage and casualties, with the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea claiming that one person was killed in the attack and four others were injured.

According to an email purportedly from the press service of Russia's Black Sea Fleet intercepted by the Ukrainian hacker group Cyber Resistance on December 29, 2023, the attack may have killed 74 Russian servicemen and injured 27 others.

This is the fourth landing ship launched by Ukraine since the start of hostilities, further reducing the logistics of Moscow's forces.

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