Ukraine Claims to Have Sunk a Russian Submarine
On Saturday, the Ukrainian military claimed that its forces had sunk a Kilo-class submarine at the port of Sevastopol. If true, it would be the second time that Ukraine has carried out a successful strike on a sub at the port.
According to Ukraine's General Staff, a flurry of long-range strikes hit ammunition plants, fuel depots and a major airfield within Russian-held territory overnight Friday. Additionally, a missile attack on Sevastopol hit and quickly sank the sub Rostov-on-Don, which had been damaged in a previous strike.
The Rostov-on-Don was struck by Ukrainian Storm Shadow/Scalp missiles on September 13, 2023, putting two large holes in the hull. The angle of approach for one of the holes suggested that the munition maneuvered in flight to circle around the target and hit from the other side - a capability consistent with Storm Shadow.
Damage to Rostov-on-Don in drydock, Sept. 2023 (CIT)
The damage was serious enough that many Western analysts declared the vessel a write-off. However, the Russian Navy vowed to repair the sub and return it to service. It was restored and refloated, and was undergoing testing off the coast of Sevastopol last week. On Friday, Ukrainian forces hit it again in another missile strike, and this time it went down, the General Staff said.
Rostov-on-Don was a priority target for Ukraine because of its capability to launch Kalibr land-attack cruise missiles. The Russian Navy has repeatedly attacked civilian targets within Ukraine using the Kalibr and other sea-launched missiles in its inventory; by damaging or destroying Russian warships that venture west of Kerch Strait, Ukraine has corralled most of the missile-capable tonnage in the Black Sea Fleet into the port of Novorossiysk, in the sea's northeast corner.
In addition to targeting subs and prominent surface combatants - like the cruiser Moskva, the fleet's flagship - Ukraine has also targeted auxiliaries that enable Russian fleet operations. In April, Ukrainian forces hit the sub tender / rescue submersible ship Komunna, one of the oldest operational naval vessels in the world. Kommuna has been in commission for 109 years, serving through both world wars and the Russian civil war.