Ukraine claims it struck and sunk the Russian Russian Navy Improved Kilo class diesel-electric attack submarine Rostov-on-Don in an attack on Sevastopol “by units of the missile forces, in cooperation with units of the Naval Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.” the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff claimed on Telegram.
“As a result of the impact, the boat sank on the spot,” according to the General Staff. “The destruction of ‘Rostov-on-Don‘ once again proves that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in the Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black Sea,” the General Staff added.
Ukraine provided no visual proof of the submarine being sunk. However, satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone shows that a peculiar floating installation at Sevastopol’s port, one that only came into being in the last few months, was clearly damaged within the last 48 hours. The facility is nestled deep in one of the bay’s fingers and was constructed using two barges with a roof-like covering strung between them. This is where some claim the submarine was being worked on at the time of the strike, although we cannot confirm that.
This would mark the second time the Rostov-on-Don was struck by Ukraine.
In September, the boat was considered damaged beyond repair in an attack reported to be carried out by air-launched Storm Shadow and/or SCALP-EG standoff missiles that can be launched by Ukrainian Air Force Su-24 Fencer strike/reconnaissance aircraft. The Ropucha class landing ship Minsk was also damaged in that attack.
However, the Ukrainian General Staff on Saturday said the submarine, which cost “$300 million,” had been “repaired and tested in the water area of the Sevastopol harbor. A retired Russian Navy officer who runs the Capt_Navy Twitter handle – and frequently posts comments about Crimea – told us on Saturday that he concurred with the Ukrainian assessment that the submarine had been repaired after the first attack.
You can see images of the vessel after that attack below. Just how likely it is that the submarine as anywhere near an operational state just ten months after being torn into by cruise missiles is questionable, but clearly Ukraine thought it was still a worthy target. Still, it’s very possible the odd floating installation that Russia cobbled together last April was put in place to revive the submarine, especially out of view of satellites overhead.
Overnight, video of the attack emerged on social media purporting to be the attack.
The Rostov-on-Don had been capable of launching Kalibr land attack cruise missiles, of the type widely used against targets in Ukraine. It entered service in 2014 and is one of four of its type with the Black Sea Fleet.
As of noon Eastern time, neither the Russian Defense Ministry nor local government officials in occupied commented about the claim. However, Sevastopol’s occupation governor Mikhail Razvovzhayev did say a building in his city was struck by a U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) that had been downed by air defenses. More on that later.
In addition to hitting the submarine, the Ukrainian General staff said the attack also damaged an S-400 “Triumph” air defense system.
“…according to information confirmed yesterday…4 launchers of the ‘Triumph’ air defense system were significantly damaged,” it said on Telegram.
The Ukrainian General Staff offered no visual proof.
The loss of another S-400 system would further damage Russian air defenses on the occupied peninsula. That creates a cascade of difficulties. Fewer systems mean more vulnerabilities to the overall air defense overlay there. Beyond that, each loss is one less system Russia can use in protecting its forward-deployed troops as well as its homeland.
Ukraine’s spy chief told us those were Ukraine’s objectives in the ongoing attacks against Russian air defenses.
“So first of all, the fact itself is that we’re engaging the military infrastructure and military targets in occupied Crimea and the occupier’s infrastructure,” Lt. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) told The War Zone last September in an exclusive interview. “If we’re going deeper into strikes against the air defense system, it’s more complicated here. First of all, the air defense systems themselves are very costly equipment and it takes a lot of time to produce those and Russian flags those systems because all this inventory is currently engaged in fighting against Ukraine and also in protection of Moscow. They’ve taken away air defenses from everywhere else.”
“That is why, naturally, when we engage in another and another air defense battalion of the Russian military, they need to think about where they can pull those systems from and where are they able to tolerate less defenses in other places,” he added.
The attack also further destabilizes like in the city and the peninsula writ large.
Officials in Sevastopol had to evacuate residents from a nine-story building after they say remnants of an ATACMS cluster-munitions variant struck its roof at around the same time the Rostov-on-Don was said to be hit.
Russian officials claim it was downed by air defenses in Sevastopol, the frequently attacked home of the Black Sea Fleet.
Between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. local time, “employees of the Sevastopol department of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations at the training ground in the Kara-Koba area will carry out the planned destruction of the high-explosive part of the ATACMS missile discovered on the roof of a house on the North Side after a night attack,” Razvozhayev said on Telegram Friday.
Razvovzhayev issued a warning to children to avoid picking up the explosive clusters.
“Let me remind you that the M74 submunition is a steel shell filled with explosives,” he stated. “When impacted and detonated, each submunition produces a large amount of steel fragments.”
Given the number of attacks on the city, Razvozhayev said Sevastopol is building 600 concrete shelters to protect citizens.
“They will be located on official beaches, in parks, squares, as well as at public transport stops, near which there are no permanent structures for shelter,” he explained. “When manufacturing reinforced concrete structures, you need to follow a technological process that requires a certain amount of time. We expect that from Monday the shipments will increase – we will deliver and install at least 30 pieces in the city every week.”
In addition, Sevastopol “also started covering the windows of kindergartens and schools with protective film. Today, glass panels have already been pasted over in institutions located in Kach, in Cossack Bay and at other addresses. Work continues.”
While Ukraine is largely on the defensive across the battlefield, it has been able to readily strike targets deep in Crimea, something officials say will continue.
The final sinking of a quarter of its Kalibr-capable submarines, and a boat that has already sucked up a lot of resources bringing back to life, would be another blow to the Black Sea Fleet. The Russian Navy has already been forced to withdraw many of its major warships from ports in Crimea, with assets being relocated across the Black Sea to the east, in Novorossiysk located in Russia’s Krasnodar region. Meanwhile, the commander of the Russian Navy was removed from his post in March, in a move widely seen as a response to Black Sea Fleet losses.
This latest attack is another sign that Ukraine’s standoff strikes on Crimea have no sign of abating.
Before diving into more developments from the conflict in Ukraine, The War Zone readers can review our previous coverage here.
The Latest
On the battlefield, most of the fighting continues to take place in Donetsk Oblast, according to the latest assessment from the Institute for the Study of War.
- Kharkiv Oblast: Fighting continued north of Kharkiv City near Hlyboke and Lyptsi and northeast of Kharkiv City near Vovchansk and Tykhe on August 1 and 2, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.
- Luhansk Oblast: The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces continued offensive operations southeast of Kupyansk near Pishchane, Stelmakhivka, and Andriivka and northwest of Kreminna near Makiivka, Nevske, and Torske on August 1 and 2, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.
- Donetsk Oblast: Russian forces recently advanced near Toretsk and continued offensive operations in the area on August 2. Geolocated footage published on August 1 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced in central Niu York (south of Toretsk). ”Russian advances in Zalizne and Russian advances in Niu York are roughly five kilometers apart and Russian forces will likely attempt to tactically encircle Ukrainian forces in the area,” ISW reported, adding that it “is not assessing that an attempted Russian encirclement will necessarily succeed. Russian forces recently advanced northwest of Avdiivka and reportedly made additional gains in the area on August 2. Russian forces “have achieved their longstanding tactical objective of reaching the O-0532 highway and cutting the Ukrainian ground line of communication (GLOC) connecting Vuhledar and Kostyantynivka (both southwest of Donetsk City),” according to ISW, “but Russian positions along the highway likely do not portend tactically significant or more rapid Russian gains in the area.” The Russians reportedly advanced elsewhere southwest of Donetsk City amid continued offensive operations west and southwest of Donetsk City on August 2. They also continued offensive operations near Chasiv Yar on August 2, but there were no confirmed changes to the frontline.
- Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia Border: Positional engagements continued in the direction of Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area on August 2.
- Zaphorizhia Oblast: Limited positional engagements continued in the west of the oblast near Robotyne, Mala Tokmachka (northeast of Robotyne), and Verbove (east of Robotyne) with no confirmed territorial gains by the Russians.
- Kherson Oblast: Russian forces continued limited ground attacks in east (left) bank of the Dnipro River, including near Krynky, on August 2, but did not make any confirmed advances.
Ukrainian forces struck the Morozovsk Air Base in Russia’s Rostov Oblast, the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said on Saturday. The base is about 150 miles from the front lines and has been attacked repeatedly by Ukrainian drones.
“Hits were recorded in warehouses with ammunition, where, in particular, guided aerial bombs were stored,” the General Staff said on Telegram. “Information regarding the destruction of air defense equipment and enemy aviation equipment is being clarified.”
The attack was carried out by GUR, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Satellite images obtained by The War Zone show that the airfield was indeed attacked. There are signs of large grass fires and the secure storage area in the northeast corner of the image appears to have been destroyed.
The airfield is home to dozens of Su-34 Fullback fighter-bombers that have been a key weapon in the war, and serves as a forward operating base for other Flanker derivatives.
This was the third time it has been attacked in as many months.
Other long-range strikes targeted petroleum facilities.
“The Defense Forces also attacked a number of oil depots and fuel and lubricant storage facilities of the Russian occupiers in the Belgorod, Kursk, and Rostov regions,” the General Staff claimed. At least two tanks with petroleum products were struck and engulfed in flames.
“Ukrainian defenders continue to methodically undermine the military and economic potential of the Russian army in order to force the invaders to stop armed aggression against Ukraine,” the General Staff said.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has signed a large-scale deal with a local manufacturer to purchase uncrewed ground vehicles.
The MoD “continues to actively strengthen the country’s defense capabilities by modernizing and expanding the arsenal of modern technologies,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Dmytro Klimenkov said. ”As part of this process, the ‘Defense Procurement Agency’ of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine concluded an agreement with a Ukrainian manufacturer for the supply of ground-based kamikaze drones.”
“We are working to ensure a stable supply of not only unmanned aerial vehicles but also ground-based kamikaze drones, which should become a powerful tool in the hands of our military,” Klimenkov explained. “These drones are an important component of our defense strategy, as they can effectively carry out the task of defeating the enemy.”
Klimenkov did not specify which company, or the amount, type, and delivery timelines of the UGVs. The MoD also signed agreements to procure an unspecified amount of an unknown type of ammunition from Ukrainian manufacturers.
Those deals are worth a combined UAH 3.7 billion (about $90 million), the MoD stated, without offering a breakdown of how much will be invested in each program.
Speaking of UGVs, Ukraine has mated a U.S.-made Mk 19 40mm grenade launcher to a Burya robotic turret. It is unclear whether this system has been fielded.
German developers are demonstrating a new drone in Ukraine called HCX which communicates via a light-weigh fiber optic cable, making it immune to radio-frequency jamming and detection, Forbes reported. As we reported recently, Russia is also pursuing this capability.
While the skies over Ukraine are filled with drones from both sides, jamming has had a wide impact. French Army Chief of Staff Gen. Pierre Schill recently claimed that 75% of drones in Ukraine were taken down by electronic warfare breaking the link between drone and operator, suggesting that the reign of the drone could soon be over.
“The HCX made by from HIGHCAT, based in Konstanz, Germany, unspools a fiber-optic cable as it flies,” Forbes reported. “This supplies a high-bandwidth data link immune to radio interference. And because there are no radio emissions, neither the operator nor the drone can be located and targeted.”
HIGHCAT co-founder Jan Hartmann told the publication that the cable “only exerts about 8 ounces/ 250 grams of force on the drone, so it does not obstruct flight. It has a flight range of up to 12 miles / 20 kilometers. The drone drops cable behind it like a trail of breadcrumbs, so there is no tangling.”
Russian Spetznaz special operations forces troops were recently spotted with a KamAZ-63969 Typhoon-K mine-resistant, ambush-protected (MRAP) armored truck. According to the Russian Milinfolive Telegram channel, these vehicles are “currently quite rare.”
Video has emerged on social media purporting to show a Russian soldier at the moment he was struck in the face by submunition from a cluster projectile, according to the Ukrainian Karymat Telegram channel that first posted it.
The Ukrainian Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) handed over two owlets to the Kyiv Zoo. The owl is GUR’s mascot.
Finally, during a visit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, British comedian Stephen Fry told a joke that elicited a guffaw from the beleaguered leader. You can hear it in this video below.
That’s it for now.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com