The Ukrainian Air Force is claiming responsibility for sinking the amphibious assault ship “Novocherkassk”, probably thanks to the use of Storm Shadow or SCALP cruise missiles supplied by the United Kingdom and France.
The Novocherkassk, a Ropucha-class amphibious landing ship, was anchored in the port of the Crimean city of Feodosia on the Black Sea coast at the time of the attack, which occurred during the early morning hours of December 26.
Several Large Explosions and Fires are raging at the Port in the Crimean City of Feodosia on the Coast of the Black Sea, following Ukrainian Strikes against what is reported to be Russian and Iran Naval Vessels carrying Munitions; the Ukrainian Air Force is claiming to have Sunk… pic.twitter.com/DHy3sTja3C
— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) December 26, 2023
“And the Russian fleet is getting smaller and smaller!” celebrated Ukrainian Air Force commander Lt. Gen. Mikoa Oleschuk on his Telegram channel.
The Novocherkassk was targeted because, according to Ukrainian media, it was carrying a large number of Shahed/Geran-type kamikaze drones inside. The spectacular explosion recorded, could indicate that the Russian vessel certainly was loaded with explosive and/or flammable material.
The unsuspected anti-ship weapon
According to Russian media, the attack on the port of Feodosia was carried out by Ukrainian Air Force Su-24M tactical aircrafts, two of which were reportedly shot down by Russian air defense systems, after having launched their munitions, the SCALP and Storm Shadow low radar signature cruise missiles supplied by France and the United Kingdom.
This would be the third time that these cruise missiles succeeded in destroying or disabling ships of the Russian Black Sea fleet. The first was in September 2023, when Ukraine launched a salvo of 10 missiles, managing to hit the Ropucha-class landing ship “Minsk” and the Kilo-class submarine “Rostov-on-Don”, which were under repair at the shipyard in the port of Sevastopol (Crimea).
Ukrainian SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles take out another Russian ship in Crimea
The second successful attack took place in November, when Ukrainian forces launched a salvo of 15 Neptune (of Ukrainian origin) and Storm Shadow or SCALP missiles against the B.E. Butoma shipyard in the city of Kerch, hitting the missile corvette Askold.
The Ukrainian strategy to nullify the capacity of the Black Sea Fleet, even without ships of its own, is proving surprisingly effective. The range and accuracy of modern missiles allows exploiting the moment of greatest vulnerability of any Navy, which is when its ships are in port.
