Ukraine Alleges Destruction of Russian Tank Landing Ship
Ukraine alleges an airstrike in Crimea destroyed a Russian tank landing ship, potentially marking the third significant loss of Russian military equipment in less than a week
On Tuesday, Ukraine stated that they conducted an airstrike in Crimea that reportedly destroyed a Russian Navy tank landing ship. If confirmed, this would be the third instance of major losses of Russian military hardware in less than a week. Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk expressed gratitude to the personnel involved, acknowledging the destruction of the Novocherkask large landing ship while it was in the port of Feodosia in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
CNN was unable to confirm the claim independently, but footage shared on social media depicted significant explosions in the Feodosia port. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Novocherkask was "damaged" in a Ukrainian attack, as reported by the state-run TASS news agency.
Sergey Aksyonov, the Russia-appointed leader of Crimea, confirmed in a statement that there was an "enemy attack in the Feodosia area," and stated that "the explosion has been contained and the fire has been localized." He also reported one fatality and two injuries from the Ukrainian strikes in an update on Telegram, but did not reference Novocherkask.
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The Novocherkask and other vessels in its Ropucha class, as stated in a US military fact sheet, measure 369 feet (112.5 meters) in length and displace about 3,450 tons, similar in size to a US Navy littoral combat ship.
According to the US military, the Novocherkask is crewed by approximately 87 people and has the capacity to carry 237 troops. The exact number of personnel aboard during the alleged Ukrainian attack is unknown.
The vessel is equipped for beach landings with bow and stern doors and can hold up to 25 armored personnel carriers on its vehicle deck.
According to Ukrainian commander Oleshchuk, the ship had been transporting Iranian-manufactured Shahed attack drones.
The Novocherkask was reported to have "followed" the Moskva, the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, before the ship sank in April 2022 after being hit by Ukrainian missiles. Ukraine also alleged in September that the Novocherkask's sister ship, the Minsk, was destroyed in an attack on the Sevastopol naval base in Crimea.
The British Defense Ministry stated that open-source intelligence analysis indicated that the Minsk was "highly likely to be functionally destroyed," and the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don also sustained severe damage in the attack.
If the Novocherkask's destruction is confirmed, it would mark the third instance in the past week of significant Russian military hardware being lost in combat, according to Ukrainian reports.
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The Ukrainian Air Force announced that on Christmas Eve, they successfully destroyed an Su-24 fighter jet in the eastern Donetsk region and an Su-30SM fighter jet over the Black Sea. Additionally, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed that the country's forces had also downed three Russian Su-34 warplanes on Friday.
Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat informed Ukrainian media on Friday that the Su-34 jets are among the most recent aircraft in use by the Russian army and are utilized for conducting aerial bomb and missile strikes. Ihnat also mentioned that the cost of each aircraft is at least $50 million.
CNN has not been able to confirm the Russian aircraft losses.
But they would be welcome successes for Ukraine after a period when the almost two-year-old war has not been going Kyivs way.
"The situation in Kyiv is incredibly grim, with unutterably bleak frontlines in nearly every direction, as reported by CNN's Nick Paton Walsh on December 17.
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Walsh pointed out that Ukraine is experiencing increased Russian attacks from both the air and ground, and that international support for their war efforts is dwindling. This includes Zelensky's inability to secure continued funding for military hardware from the US Congress during his visit to Washington.
At the same time, the Ukrainian military has asked for 500,000 extra troops, according to David Arakhamia, the leader of the parliamentary majority, who made the announcement via Telegram on Monday.
He also mentioned that the government is working on a bill to mobilize troops in order to address the issue of troop recruitment.
CNNs Svitlana Vlasova, Mariya Knight and Esha Mitra contributed to this report.
This story has been updated with additional details.
