Russia loses two ships in Sevastopol

13 September, 2023 A large-scale fire at the Sevastopol Shipyard in the name of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, September 13, 2023 A missile strike in Sevastopol hit a shipyard and two warships. This was reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense.

According to Russian defense officials, ten cruise missiles were used for the attack, as well as three surface drones. As a result of the strike on the Sevastopol Shipyard, two Russian military vessels that were undergoing repairs there were damaged. The shipyard reported two employees killed and 26 injured.

Based on satellite images, at the supposed time of the hits in the dry dock, there were a Project 775 large landing ship and a submarine, presumably Project 877/636. According to unconfirmed reports, those were the Minsk LHD and the Rostov-on-Don submarine.

Satellite images of the Shipyard in the name of Sergo Ordzhonikidze. Photo credits: Def Mon

Due to pictures from the scene, we can confirm this thesis.

In one of the photos, you can clearly see the specific outlines of the Project 775 landing ship. According to the photo, the ship suffered serious punctures due to the strike and a large-scale fire. It also got a significant hole in the port side in the superstructure area, which may mean a cruise missile hitting at an angle directly into the engine room.

A Project 775 large amphibious ship of was hit in the dock of the Sevastopol Shipyard in the name of Sergo Ordzhonikidze, September 13, 2023

Taking into account the nature and extent of damage, as well as the complexity of repairing ships manufactured in Poland, which include the Project 775 ships, we can say that the ship is not recoverable.

It remains unknown what the condition of another unknown vessel, which may be a Project 877/636 submarine, is. These boats are also known as "Varshavyanka" and are carriers of Kalibr cruise missiles, which repeatedly attacked Ukraine. It's worth noting that the missiles broke through a powerful layered air defense, which has long been covering Sevastopol Bay due to its strategic value.

It can be assumed that the strike was carried out by Franco-British SCALP/Storm Shadow stealth cruise missiles. They belong to air-launched missiles and are launched from modified Ukrainian Su-24? bombers.

Ukrainian Su-24 with two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, June 2023. Photo from social media

Russian official sources also reported an attack by Ukrainian surface drones attacking Russian military vessels at a crossing near Sevastopol.

However, some of the actual successes of their use are currently unknown.