A Russian landing ship was probably carrying explosive cargo when struck on Christmas Day in a Ukrainian attack while docked on the southern coast of occupied Crimea, British officials said Thursday.
The strike caused a secondary explosion in the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk that resulted in its destruction, U.K. intelligence experts wrote on X in their latest assessment of the war in Ukraine.
“Russia misled when it claimed Putin’s warship Novocherkassk was merely ‘damaged.’ It has clearly been completely destroyed,” British Defense Secretary Grant Shapps wrote on social media. “It’s crucial that in 2024, the civilized world continues to back Ukraine in this epoch-defining battle currently playing out in Europe.”
The Novocherkassk is the third amphibious warship that Russia has lost since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine in February 2022. The Saratov sank in March that year, then the Minsk was wrecked this past September. At least two other Russian landing ships presumably were damaged in other attacks, U.K. officials said.
“Russia likely planned to use its LST force to launch significant amphibious assaults during the invasion, and it doubled the number of these vessels in the Black Sea during the buildup to the war,” they said.
The Russian ships have been supporting its forces in occupied Ukraine.
“This is a significant role because it augments the vital and relatively fragile road and rail connection of the Crimean Bridge, which links Crimea to Russia,” the officials said.
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