A massive Russian warship was reportedly struck by Ukrainian missiles earlier today in the latest blow to Vladimir Putin's war. The Admiral Makarov was believed to be ablaze after the strike.
A number of reports suggest it was close to Snake Island in the Black Sea and a rescue operation involving aircraft and boats was under way. Writing on Telegram, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko said the ship had been hit by his country's neptune missiles, reports the Mirror.
In his post, he wrote: "There is new information about another failure of the Russian fleet near our shores. Unofficial Russian sources report that the newest missile frigate Admiral Makarov is in trouble.
“It is equipped with modern air defence systems and is armed with Kalibr cruise missiles. Or was. The ship is badly damaged, but remains afloat. For now. We wait.”
Ukrainian official Anton Gerashchenko backed up the reports, saying: “Admiral Makarov frigate is on fire off the coast of Snake Island. “According to preliminary data, the ship was hit by Ukrainian Neptune missiles.
“Now enemy aviation is operating in the ship's disaster zone, and ships of the Russian Navy have come out of the temporarily occupied Crimea to help the sinking ship."
Further unconfirmed reports said the warship was hit by Ukrainian missiles near the Sevastopol naval plant in Crimea, on the Black Sea.
However Dumskaya, a prominent local news outlet from Odessa, reported: “The Operational Command South has not yet confirmed the defeat of an enemy ship near Snake island.”
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added a '+1' to their boats column in their daily report on Russian losses this morning, which they tweeted out. The Admiral Makarov is one of just three frigates of its class active in the Black Sea.
They added that Ukrainian planes were flying overhead with a rescue operation ongoing and that satellite images from the area seemingly confirmed the ship was burning. The significant damage to the Admiral Makarov would be a serious blow to Putin's forces.
Commissioned in only 2017, the Makarov is one of Russia's most modern combat warships and carries a crew of around 200 people it is thought. It is now one of the largest frigates Russia can currently make because Moscow traditionally has gotten its big marines engines from Ukraine.
It is armed with Kalibr missiles as well as torpedoes, a Ka-27 or Ka-31 helicopter and an Orlan-10 military drones. Flight trackers show a number of aircrafts and drones circling over the area of the Black Sea.
A report in Forbes said that Russian commanders were aware that the Admiral Makarov would be a Ukrainian target now.
It said: “In any event, it’s apparent Russian fleet commanders appreciate the danger. There’s evidence Admiral Makarov’s skipper has been taking pains to keep her away from the Ukrainian coast."
There are videos circulating on social media that claim to show the frigate going up in flames. This fresh blow comes not long after Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, was sunk.
