Ukrainian defense forces have conducted a successful operation against Russian military assets in occupied Crimea, according to a report by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on 3 August.
Ukraine continues to soften the Russian air defenses and deplete Russia’s naval assets. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukraine destroyed 1/3-1/2 of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, using maritime drones and missiles. Ukraine’s navy chief earlier reported that Russia’s Black Sea Fleet has been compelled to move most of its combat-ready warships from occupied Crimea due to Ukrainian strikes.
The coordinated attack targeted a Russian submarine and an S-400 air defense system. The submarine Rostov-na-Donu (B-237), part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, was hit in the port of Sevastopol and subsequently sank at its location, as per the report. The vessel, valued at $300 million, was one of four Kilo-class submarines capable of launching Kalibr missiles.
The report does not mention the date of the attack. However, unofficial sources and Russian authorities claimed that Ukraine targeted occupied Crimea yesterday, using the US-supplied ATACMS missiles.
Russia could have lost more S-400 air defense systems
Based on the NASA FIRMS thermal anomalies map, OSINT researchers suggest Ukraine's last night's ATACMS attack targeted a known position of the S-400 battery near Sevastopol in occupied Crimea.
????https://t.co/XH0HIwXgFR,… pic.twitter.com/gjpua9KX3Q— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) August 2, 2024
The General Staff reported that missile units, in cooperation with the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also significantly damaged four launchers of the S-400 Triumph air defense system.
The Rostov-na-Donu submarine, commissioned on 26 December 2014, had previously suffered substantial damage in a Ukrainian missile attack on 13 September 2023. It had been undergoing repairs and testing in the waters of Sevastopol harbor prior to this latest strike.
Related:
- Media: Ukraine destroys Russia’s S-400 Triumf SAM complex in occupied Crimea
- Frontline report: Ukraine’s latest attacks on occupied Crimea expose gaps in Russian defenses
- Frontline report: Seven Russian warships targeted by Ukraine in just four days, with three destroyed and at least two damaged
- British intel: Sevastopol missile strikes deal major blow to Russia’s Black Sea fleet
- UK Intelligence: Russia struggles to defend assets in Crimea amid Ukrainian attacks