Ukraine's navy spokesman reveals new details of Novorossiysk submarine strike

"This operation had many layers, starting with the development of the strike system itself and ending with planning and preventing information leaks. Carrying out such an operation is a comprehensive and quite complicated task," Pletenchuk said.

According to him, the operation to strike the Russian submarine was particularly difficult because the Novorossiysk base is well protected, and in recent times Russia has avoided keeping its ships and submarines in the Black Sea precisely due to the risk of being hit.

"They are forced to stay there [in the port of Novorossiysk – ed.] and, in case of any danger, change their mooring location — reposition ships or leave the base altogether to avoid being struck. But here, as you can see, they felt no danger at all," Pletenchuk added.

He also emphasized that Ukraine struck the submarine Rostov-on-Don back in 2024. It became the first submarine lost in combat by any country since World War II.

"This is already the second submarine, meaning they’ve now set a kind of anti-record. As a result, Russia has two more submarines of this type left, plus one submarine that is not a cruise-missile carrier. At one point, they had six such submarines in the Black Sea," the Navy spokesperson concluded.

What is known about the Varshavyanka-class submarine

Project 636.3 Varshavyanka is a diesel-electric, multi-purpose submarine designed with a strong emphasis on low noise and stealth. The 636.3 modification features an upgraded sonar acoustic shell.

Its armament includes six 533-mm torpedo tubes and a payload of torpedoes or cruise missiles launched via those tubes. The submarine is capable of carrying and launching Kalibr cruise missiles, typically up to four onboard, fired through the torpedo tubes.

On December 15, it became known that drones operated by Ukraine’s Security Service attacked a Russian submarine in the port of Novorossiysk. This marked the first such incident in history.