“Russia’s ability to land naval assault halved”: Neizhpapa on destruction of Russia’s Novocherkassk and other ships

The Commander of the Ukrainian Naval Forces, Vice Admiral Oleksiy Neizhpapa, shared the information.

According to him, Russian amphibious assault ships, as well as Kalibr missile carriers used by the aggressor state to fire on the territory of Ukraine, are a priority target for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

"As a result of the destruction of landing ships by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Black Sea Fleet's ability to land amphibious assault has been reduced to a battalion. That is, they used to be able to land two battalions at the same time, and now they can land only one," said Oleksiy Neizhpapa in a conversation with Voice of America's Eastern Europe Broadcasting Director Myroslava Gongadze.

According to him, Russia uses landing ships as military transport vessels to ferry military cargo between the mainland territory of Russia and the occupied Crimea.

"I do not have complete information, but I do not rule out that they could have loaded (Iranian drones) onto the ship, judging by the detonation, which was very voluminous. I cannot confirm what exactly was there, but this ship was completely destroyed. There is no point in restoring it," the Ukrainian Navy Commander commented on the assumption of the possible presence of Shahed drones on board the ship.

• On April 13, 2022, the Ukrainian military hit the Russian cruiser Moskva with two Neptune missiles. A fire broke out on board, and the ship eventually sank. This was Ukraine’s biggest success against the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
• At the same time, the sinking of the ship was the largest loss of the Russian Navy in the last 40 years.
• On the night of December 26, a missile strike by the Ukrainian Air Force destroyed the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk. It was based in the port of Feodosia in the temporarily occupied Crimea. This was the second strike on the Novocherkassk during Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. The first hit by Ukrainian missiles on this ship occurred in March 2022 in the port of Berdyansk. At that time, it was bringing military equipment there. According to reports, at least three crew members of the Novocherkassk were killed.