This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense.
It is noted that this warship has usually helped the Black Sea Fleet since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It often transported military and civilian traffic between Russia and the occupied Crimea when the Kerch Bridge was damaged by attacks.
According to intelligence reports, the Olenegorsky Gornyak weighs 3,600 tons and is 113 meters long. It is the largest Russian warship to be severely damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on April 13, 2022.
According to British intelligence, this is a significant blow to the Black Sea Fleet, which had previously relocated most of its ships to Novorossiysk due to the high threat to Sevastopol.
On the morning of Friday, August 4, residents of the Russian city of Novorossiysk reported explosions. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine had allegedly attacked a naval base in the city with two naval drones.
The governor of the region said that there were no casualties or damage as a result of the attack. It was also noted that the infrastructure of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium was not damaged, oil shipments continue, but ship traffic in the port has been temporarily suspended.
Later, information appeared on the Internet that the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship had been damaged. In particular, one of the Russian propagandists wrote about this. He claimed that one of the compartments was allegedly flooded, which caused the ship to tip over.
Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said they had nothing to do with the incident in Novorossiysk.
Andriy Yusov, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, commented on the explosions in Novorossiysk and noted that it was a serious slap in the face for the Russian leadership.