Damage to the Rostov-Na-Donu improved Kilo-class submarine (Project 636.3) after an attack on the temporarily occupied Sevastopol, 18 September 2023. Photo via Defense Express.

Occupied Crimea no longer viable for Russian military ship repairs, says Ukrainian Navy

January 6, 2025

By Ukraine

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Russian forces have completely ceased military vessel repairs in occupied Crimea due to successful Ukrainian strikes throughout 2023 and 2024, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk announced on Ukrainian TV on 6 January.

Ukrainian strikes forced the Black Sea Fleet to abandon occupied Crimea for Russia’s Novorossiysk, with over 20% of its vessels destroyed by maritime drones and precision missiles. Strikes targeted naval vessels, headquarters, and key sites, leaving Russian forces unable to return. Despite these setbacks, Russia retains significant strike capabilities from the eastern Black Sea.

According to Defense Express, Pletenchuk said:

“The main facilities for the Russians are still in Crimea. But we’ve demonstrated in practice that using repair bases for their Black Sea fleet is no longer possible. To repair their ships, they first need to bring them there. And now, no one will be doing that,” Pletenchuk stated.

The spokesman cited several successful Ukrainian strikes, including attacks on the Tsiklon missile ship guarding Sevastopol Bay, multiple hits on the Rostov-na-Donu submarine, and strikes on the missile corvette Askold in Kerch.

While alternative repair facilities exist in Novorossiysk on Russia’s eastern Black Sea coast, Pletenchuk noted they are inferior to those in occupied Crimea. He added that despite Russia’s capability to construct small missile ships in Zelenodolsk, Tatarstan, this option is not economically viable.

According to Pletenchuk, the last two Karakurt project vessels – small missile ships in Russian classification, Askold and Tsiklon, have been relocated to the Caspian Sea. Currently, only one Russian submarine remains in the Black Sea for base protection, with remaining patrol operations conducted by aviation.

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