OSINT researcher releases photo of damaged Russian ship Minsk

3 November, 2023 The hull of the landing ship Minsk in Sevastopol, October 31, 2023. Photo credits: MT Anderson/X New satellite images of the Russian landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don, which were hit in occupied Sevastopol in September, have been published on the web.

In September, Ukrainian forces launched a missile attack on the dry dock of the Sevastopol Naval Shipyard. The photos were released by OSINT researcher MT Anderson on X (former Twitter). Satellite imagery from October 31 shows that the Russians have withdrawn the hull of the landing ship Minsk.

Instead, the Rostov-on-Don diesel-electric submarine remains in dry dock.

Sevastopol Naval Shipyard, October 31, 2023. Photo credits: MT Anderson/X

"Look at the dry docks around Sevastopol in ultra-high resolution. The dismantled ship Minsk has left the dry dock and is moored to the north of it.

The Rostov-on-Don submarine is still in dry dock," the OSINT researcher wrote. The high-resolution images show that only the hull of the landing ship remained, as the superstructure was destroyed by a missile strike and subsequent fire inside the ship. Therefore, its remains were dismantled.

The hull of the landing ship Minsk in Sevastopol, October 31, 2023.

Photo credits: MT Anderson/X

The images do not show whether the Russians are trying to repair the debris of the landing ship Minsk. This possibility is doubtful since the occupiers will in fact have to build a new ship during the repair. It is also unknown what the condition of the landing ship's hull is after the fire and whether its restoration is advisable due to the extent of damage.

At the same time, the Russians are still trying to repair their Project 636.3 Varshavianka diesel-electric submarine, which carries Kalibr cruise missiles. It remains in dry dock.

Damaged Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don in Sevastopol.

September 2023. Photo from open sources

As previously reported, on the night of September 13, 2023, a missile attack was launched on a shipyard in occupied Sevastopol. Later, it became known that the Russian landing ship Minsk and the submarine Rostov-on-Don were extensively damaged.

The attack on the Russian submarine and landing ship at Sevastopol is thought to have been carried out by French-British SCALP/Storm Shadow cruise missiles launched by Ukrainian Air Force aircraft.

Damaged Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don in Sevastopol. September 2023. Photo from open sources

This is evident from the places where the ships were hit.

The missiles hit the targets from above, and the large size of the holes indicates that a powerful warhead, which is equipped with modern cruise missiles in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, exploded.