The Ukrainian armed forces appear to have significantly damaged the Russian Ropucha-class landing ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak during an unmanned surface vehicle (USV) attack in the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk on the night of 3-4 August 2023.
The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed on the morning of 4 August that an attack carried out by two Ukrainian USVs in the port of Novorossiysk had failed when both of them were destroyed “by fire from the standard weapons of Russian ships guarding … the naval base”.
However, a video post on the Telegram messaging channel from the ‘Operational Ukrainian Armed Forces’, which various news sources described as being sourced from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), featured footage of what appeared to be a USV clearly closing on the port side of a Ropucha-class landing ship at night. Despite the ship’s searchlights being on, no gunfire is apparent in the footage, which cuts out as the USV makes contact with the ship and presumably detonates.
Text accompanying the ‘Operational Ukrainian Armed Forces’ posting of the footage is entitled “SBU conducts special operation in Novorossiysk Bay – large amphibious assault ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak damaged”.
The text goes on to state, “The video shows an SBU surface drone loaded with 450 kg of TNT attacking an enemy ship with about 100 crew members.
“According to Security Service sources, the special operation was carried out jointly with the navy. As a result of the attack, the Olenegorskiy Gornyak sustained a serious hole and is currently unable to carry out its combat missions. So all the Russians’ claims about the ‘repelled attack’ are fake.”
The text then concludes with, “We remind you that this is not the first successful SBU special operation using surface drones. Earlier, SBU Head Vasyl Malyuk said that the attack on Russian ships in Sevastopol Bay last October and the recent bombing of the Crimean bridge were the work of the Security Service.”
Photographs subsequently appearing on social media show a Ropucha-class landing ship presumed to be Olenegorskiy Gornyak listing to port and accompanied by tugs in what looks very much like the bay at Novorossiysk.
Ropucha-class landing ships are 112.5 m long and have a full-load displacement of 4,080 tons. Destroying or heavily damaging one presents Ukraine with its most significant naval ‘win’ since the sinking of the Russian cruiser Moskva on 14 April 2022.
Moreover, if ever Russia’s troops in Crimea are cut of from the rest of the Russian forces and the Kerch Strait Bridge is compromised, ships like Russia’s Ropucha-class vessels could be needed to resupply them.
Peter Felstead
