A Russian touchdown ship was most likely carrying explosive cargo when struck on Christmas Day in a Ukrainian assault whereas docked on the southern coast of occupied Crimea, British officers stated Thursday.
The strike induced a secondary explosion within the Russian touchdown ship Novocherkassk that resulted in its destruction, U.Ok. intelligence specialists wrote on X of their newest evaluation of the struggle in Ukraine.
“Russia misled when it claimed Putin’s warship Novocherkassk was merely ‘damaged.’ It has clearly been completely destroyed,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on social media. “It’s crucial that in 2024, the civilized world continues to back Ukraine in this epoch-defining battle currently playing out in Europe.”
The Novocherkassk is the third amphibious warship that Russia has misplaced because the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Saratov sank in March that yr, then the Minsk was wrecked this previous September. At least two different Russian touchdown ships presumably had been broken in different assaults, U.Ok. officers stated.
“Russia likely planned to use its LST force to launch significant amphibious assaults during the invasion, and it doubled the number of these vessels in the Black Sea during the buildup to the war,” they stated.
The Russian ships have been supporting its forces in occupied Ukraine.
“This is a significant role because it augments the vital and relatively fragile road and rail connection of the Crimean Bridge, which links Crimea to Russia,” the officers stated.
