Minus two ships? What is known about the powerful attack on Sevastopol

Explosions in Sevastopol

It all started with explosions in temporarily occupied Sevastopol this night. Eyewitnesses reported at least seven powerful explosions. Subsequently, there was information about a fire in the South Bay area, specifically in the vicinity of the local shipyard.

Furthermore, at around four in the morning, Sevastopol residents reported subsequent explosions and gunfire.

Later, the Russian Ministry of Defense reacted to the situation.

Shipyard under attack

After vivid footage of the fire in Sevastopol due to "bavovna" (explosions ironically) appeared online, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the shipyard named after Ordzhonikidze had come under attack. As usual, they blamed the attack on the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

According to them, Ukraine allegedly "used 10 cruise missiles and 3 unmanned boats" during the "strike against the squadron of ships of the Black Sea Fleet on the sea route."

Additionally, Russians claim that they managed to shoot down seven missiles with the patrol ship Vasily Bykov and destroy all the unmanned boats.

However, the unshot missiles reportedly hit their target. The enemy admitted that two ships were damaged as a result of the attack, which were supposedly "undergoing repairs."

Additional information about the shipyard

The Sevastopol Shipyard named after Ordzhonikidze is the largest ship repair and shipbuilding enterprise in Crimea, one of the leading industrial enterprises in the Azov-Black Sea region, as reported on the company's website.

It was founded in 1783. Throughout its history, the shipyard had full capacity and performed the most complex work on the repair, modernization, and construction of ships and vessels of various classes. The occupiers use it as the main repair base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation.

Two Russian ships damaged. Which ones?

The ships are Rostov-on-Don and Minsk.

As Russian Telegram channels report, two vessels were damaged as a result of the attack. These are the diesel-electric submarine Rostov-on-Don and the large landing ship Minsk, both of which were in dry dock for repairs.

It is known that the Russian submarine B-237 Rostov-on-Don underwent trials and was commissioned into the Russian fleet in 2014. Its value is estimated at around $300 million. It is equipped with Kalibr missiles. In total, the Russian Black Sea Fleet has six such submarines, one of which has remained in the Mediterranean Sea since 2022.

Photo: Russian diesel-electric submarine B-237 Rostov-on-Don (mill.ru)

The large landing ship Minsk was launched back in 1983. As reported by Defence Express, the ship is assigned to the Russian Baltic Fleet, but on the eve of the full-scale Russian invasion, it was transferred along with similar ships from the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation to the Black Sea.

Photo: Large Russian landing ship of project 775 Minsk (mill.ru)

For Russia, this is the third landing ship that has been disabled following the destruction of the Saratov and the damage to the Olenegorsky Gornyakl in Novorossiysk. Therefore, the Russian Black Sea Fleet may have no more than eight ships in service.

Ships Ropucha and Kilo

There have also been speculations on the internet about which specific Russian ships may have been affected. An American OSINT analyst suggested that the large landing ship Ropucha and the submarine Kilo could have been damaged in Sevastopol.

Photo: OSINT analysts believe that the target of the strike on Sevastopol could have been one of the Russian large landing ships Ropucha and the submarine Kilo.

Defense Intelligence confirms damage to two Russian ships

It should be noted that a source in the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense has already confirmed the damage to two vessels during the nighttime attack on the Sevastopol shipyard.

"There is damage to the Sevastopol Shipyard named after Sergo Ordzhonikidze in Sevastopol, including its equipment. As for watercraft, we can confirm the damage to a large landing ship and a submarine," the intelligence agency stated.

NASA satellites detected massive fire after the strike

NASA satellites detected a massive fire on the territory of the Sevastopol shipyard on the FIRMS project's global fire map.

Satellites recorded the fire at 4:00 AM. It is evident that all three fire locations are on the territory of the shipyard: two in the Pivdenna Bay and one in the Korabelna Bay.

Photo: NASA satellites have detected fires at the Sevastopol Shipyard (firms.modaps.eosdis.nasa.gov)

According to satellite images, both ships were indeed in dry dock. This also means that the dry dock itself, which is of great importance for ship repair and maintenance in Sevastopol, suffered damage.

Was the attack carried out from aircraft?

The commander of the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mykola Oleshchuk, hinted that the nighttime attack on Sevastopol was carried out from aircraft.

"While the occupiers are still recovering from the night 'bavovna' in Sevastopol, I would like to thank the pilots of the Air Force of the Armed Forces for their excellent combat work! More to come..." he wrote.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson for the Air Force, Yuri Ihnat, commented on the information, saying, "It can be concluded that the strikes were carried out by pilots of the Air Force."

Casualties and injuries

Russian Telegram channels Shot and Baza report that two people have died and 26 have been injured as a result of the missile attack on the Sevastopol Shipyard named after S. Ordzhonikidze.

According to Russian media, all casualties and injuries are among the shipyard's employees.

Meanwhile, the so-called governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, provided slightly different numbers from the Russian intelligence. He stated that there were 24 injured, with four in moderate condition.

Pro-Russian local Telegram channels, on the other hand, claim that there are no casualties or injuries among the shipyard's employees. Russia has not yet commented on this information.