Remembering the Ukrainian strike that destroyed an important Russian ship

In November 2023, a Ukrainian cruise missile strike on a Russian shipyard in occupied Crimea led to the destruction of an important naval vessel. This is how the Project 22800 Karakurt-class missile corvette Askold was knocked out of the war by Kyiv.

In the hours after the strike, news was mixed about what happened and what was destroyed. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed one of its Black Sea Fleet vessels was damaged while Ukraine claimed they did more than just damage one ship.

The Russian Ministry of Defense issued a statement on November 4th claiming that Ukrainian forces fired fifteen cruise missiles at the Crimean port city of Kerch. This is where the Zaliv shipyard is located.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By President.gov.ua

Thirteen of which it said were shot down according to the ministry statement but the name of the ship that was damaged in the attack was not revealed by Russia at that time according to Reuters. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Rept0n1x, Own Work, CC BY-SA 3.0

However, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force Lieutenant General Mykola Olexhchuk revealed on his Telegram channel in a November 4th post that the missile strike destroyed a critical Russian naval vessel. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Ministry of Defence of Ukraine

Lieutenant General Olexhchuk first reported the news about the attack in an initial post that provided a few details of the operation, reporting that Ukraine’s Air Force launched a successful missile strike on the Zaliv shipyard. 

"I hope another ship has followed the Moskva!" the Ukrainian Air Force leader wrote in his post on Telegram according to Reuters, which was a veiled reference to the sinking of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet flagship the Moskva. 

The Russian Navy stationed one of its most modern warships at the shipyard according to Lt. Gen. Oleshchuk, who explained that the vessel was a Kalibr cruise missile carrier, though he didn’t confirm that the ship was destroyed.

Confirmation came one day later when the lieutenant general posted a second message stating: “I confirm,” referencing his initial post according to translations of the statements from Ukrainska Pravda. But what else do we know more than four months on from the attack?

Photo Credit: Telgram @MykolaOleshchuk

Alleged video evidence of the cruise missile attack was published by the Center of National Resistance of Ukraine on its Telegram channel. The footage showed what looked to be a shipyard on fire with smoke billowing from the area. 

Photo Credit: Telegram sprotyv_official

Reuters noted in its reporting on the cruise missile strike that it was not able to verify the claims from Ukraine or the Russian Ministry of Defense, nor was the news outlet able to verify the video and social media posts of the incident. 

Photo Credit: Telgram @MykolaOleshchuk

However, further details and satellite imagery released by Planet Labs indicated that the shipyard was hit by a strike that damaged one ship, and these images were later analyzed by Ukrainian Naval Captain Andrii Ryzhenko according to Ukrainska Pravda reported. 

"I have information that there was only one vessel in Kerch at the time of the explosions, capable of carrying Kalibr class missiles, namely the Askold, on 4 November,” the naval captain explained. 

“I think that this warship, as we can see, was already at the berth and was being refurbished since it was supposed to be put into operation in December. You can see that it's still afloat, but the ship's top is noticeably damaged,” Ryzhenko added. 

The Askold is part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and was engaged in attacking targets in Ukraine as recently as September according to Reuters, which noted that statements from Russia’s Ministry of Defense had it stationed off the coast of Crimea. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0

Ukrainska Pravda's Roman Petrenko reported that the Askold is a 2800 Karakurt-type small missile ship that has the capacity to carry eight Kalibr missiles.

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By Mil.ru

Earlier reports from Russia’s Ministry of Defense noted that the Askold was armed with the country’s Kalbir missile system as well as the Pantsir medium-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery system. 

Photo Credit: Wiki Commons By LPHOT SEELEY/MOD

More video evidence of the incident and images showing that the Askold had been damaged beyond repair quickly surfaced online and Forbed reported that the ship was likely destroyed by British-made Storm Shadows or French-made SCALPs cruise missiles.

Photo Credit: Twitter @DefenceU

The loss of the Askold took a powerful naval piece off the board in the Black Sea and has undoubtedly had an impact on Moscow’s ability to prosecute its operations in the south of Ukraine. 

"Striking Askold is a big boon to Ukraine’s ongoing effort to control the western Black Sea and prevent the Russian fleet from interdicting the cargo ships hauling grain from Ukrainian ports," Forbes reported at the time.

It also is a relief to Ukrainian civilians. Askold is one of the Black Sea Fleet’s land-attack vessels," Forbes wrote, noting it likely targetted Ukrainian cities if it was already commissioned. "Every Kalibr-shooter the Ukrainians damage or destroy, at sea or in port, saves lives on land."