Russia deploys Kalibr missile carriers to Black Sea: potential salvo revealed
Photo: hostile vessels spotted in two seas (facebook.com/mod.mil.rus)
On Sunday, July 6, Russia deployed Kalibr cruise missile carriers into the Black Sea, posing a potential missile threat to Ukraine, according to a report from the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
As of 6:00 AM Kyiv time, two Russian warships were detected in the Black Sea, both of which are Kalibr cruise missile carriers, with a total potential salvo of up to eight missiles.
At the same time, no Russian vessels were observed in the Sea of Azov. However, two Russian ships were spotted in the Mediterranean Sea, one of which is a missile carrier with a total salvo capacity of up to four Kalibr missiles.
Additionally, over the past 24 hours, in the interests of Russia, the following vessel movements were recorded through the Kerch Strait:
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Into the Black Sea – 7 ships, 4 of which continued toward the Bosphorus Strait;
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Into the Sea of Azov – 4 ships.
"Russia continues to violate the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, by disabling automatic identification systems," the Ukrainian Navy added.
How to identify preparation for Kalibr cruise missile launch
In May, Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk stated that the best way to assess the likelihood of Kalibr missiles being used is to monitor the airspace situation.
He explained that Russian forces often deploy Kalibr missiles as part of combined attacks on Ukraine, involving, among other means, aircraft. Therefore, if there is intelligence about aircraft being prepared, it’s reasonable to expect missile launches from the Black Sea as well.
