A newly built Russian naval corvette was “almost certainly damaged” after being struck in occupied Crimea, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in its intelligence update.
The Karakurt-class Askold warship was launched in 2021 and had not been yet commissioned into the Russian navy, the MoD said, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources. The Russian word “Karakurt” means “Black Widow spider”.
Russian officials claimed Ukrainian cruise missiles were aimed at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch on 4 November. The officials confirmed the attacks had struck one of its small warships. Askold is one of Russia’s Kalibr cruise missile carriers.
The Commander of Ukraine’s air force, Lt Gen Mykola Oleshchuk, had earlier said he believed a vessel carrying the Kalibr missiles was struck, and suggested Kyiv used long-range French Scalp cruise missiles.
Andriy Ryzhenko, a captain in the Ukrainian naval reserve, also said he believed the vessel struck by the missile was one belonging to the Karakurt Project 22800 – a new class of Russian corvettes.
The damage to the Russian Black Sea fleet ship was significant, according to The Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
“Russian and Ukrainian sources posted photos on November 7 showing significant damage to the Askold Project 22800 Karakurt-class Kalibr missile carrier corvette that will likely render it inoperable for the foreseeable future,” it said on Tuesday in its assessment, referring to the ship’s full name.
These attacks by Ukrainian forces are part of a campaign against Russian military infrastructure, especially Black Sea Fleet assets, in occupied Crimea to “degrade the Russian military’s ability to use Crimea as a staging and rear area for Russian operations in southern Ukraine”, the ISW said.
The UK MoD also said the strikes were “farther to the east in Crimea than most previous Ukrainian-claimed long-range strikes”.
It said the attack could mean Russia may have to consider relocating its shipbuilding infrastructure farther away from the front line, something that could further delay the delivery of new ships.
Earlier this week, satellite photos appeared to show damage to the Russian corvette and a firefighting vessel along with booms – or temporary floating barriers – in the water to stop oil leaks from the damaged ship.
Photos showed the still-afloat vessel had some burn marks. The measurements of the vessel and its shape corresponded to those of a Karakurt-class corvette.
This class of ships are designed to carry around eight Kalibr cruise missiles at a time.
Kyiv has been gearing up to launch a major winter drone offensive against Russia’s ongoing invasion once harsh winter conditions hamper ground attacks, a top military official had told The Independent recently.
Brigadier General Serhiy Baranov, the chief of the military unit overseeing drone operations, had warned Crimea, that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and border areas within Russia would be subject to renewed aerial bombardment.
