Several intelligence analysts with open sources suspect that Russia has deployed a replica of a Kilo-class submarine at its naval base in Sevastopol, on the occupied Crimean peninsula. The expert MT Anderson It is believed that it could be a camouflaged wreck of the Rostov-on-Don submarine, sunk last year by Ukrainian forces, or an imitation of a Kilo-class submarine, the code by which Soviet submarines are identified in NATO countries, known in the USSR as Project 877 Paltus.
As media attention is focused on the Russian advance in Donbas and the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk, the UK Ministry of Defence on Wednesday tweeted that it was highly likely that a Ukrainian attack on Crimea caused the sinking of the Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine. HI Suttonanother well-known OSINT analyst and contributor to the specialized portal Naval Newsbelieves that this detail may be relevant to deflect possible Ukrainian attacks and prevent further losses of strategic naval assets.
The Russian Navy’s $300 million upgraded Kilo-class submarine Rostov del Don was hit by a missile off Sevastopol on Sept. 13, 2023. Ukraine claimed responsibility for the attack on naval targets and port infrastructure in Crimea, including a dry-docked submarine and a large landing ship named Minsk.
Shortly after the offensive, Russian state news agency Ria Novosti reported that the Russian Defense Ministry had stated that both vessels would be fully repaired and returned to normal service. But photos of the submarine suggested that the repair process looked unrealistic.
Despite the Russian government’s claims to the contrary, analysts did not consider it at all realistic that the submarine would be repaired. The work would be extremely expensive and time-consuming. In addition, it would have to be moved to a suitable shipyard, such as the Admiralty shipyard in St. Petersburg.
Ukraine has been hammering the Russian Black Sea Fleet since the full-scale invasion began, in an attempt to repel threats of missile attacks from ships deployed around its southern coast. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has been forced to relocate most of its vessels. The Rostov-on-Don was one of four Russian Kilo-class submarines capable of launching Kalibr missiles, regularly fired at Ukraine.