Satellite Photos Show Aftermath of Strike on Russian Black Sea Ship

Satellite images that have been posted online seemingly show the destructive aftermath of a Ukrainian strike on a Russian Black Sea Fleet vessel docked at the city of Kerch in annexed Crimea.

The Askold cruise missile carrier was allegedly struck during a November 4 Ukrainian attack on the Zaliv shipyard, also referred to as Butoma, in east Crimea.

In the photos from California-based global imaging company Planet Labs, the shipyard appeared to have been the target of a strike, and the highlighted ship appeared damaged.

The images, obtained by Schemes, a project by U.S.-funded Radio Liberty, taken on October 31 and November 5, respectively showed the shipyard before and after the Ukrainian strike.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment via email.

"According to my data, on November 4, in Kerch at the time of the explosions there was only one ship capable of carrying Kalibr missiles, namely Askold," Ukrainian captain of the first rank navy reserve Andriy Ryzhenko told Schemes.

"You can see that he's (the ship) still afloat, but the upper part of the ship is significantly damaged."

He told the Schemes that the Askold is a small 22800-type corvette that can carry up to eight Kalibr missiles and that damaging such vessels is important to Ukraine's security.

Newsweek has been unable to verify the validity of the images obtained by Schemes.

Confirmation of Ukrainian Strike

Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, a Ukrainian Air Force commander, claimed in a November 5 Telegram post that the vessel struck was "one of the most advanced ships of the Russian Navy."

The Russian Defense Ministry told the state-owned RIA Novosti a vessel at the Kerch shipyard had been damaged, but did not comment further.

"The Ukrainian Armed forces launched a strike with 15 cruise missiles at the shipbuilding plant named after [Soviet statesman Boris] Butoma in Kerch. Thirteen cruise missiles were shot down by the air defense systems. As a result of being hit by an enemy cruise missile, a ship located at the plant was damaged."

Ukraine has previously launched attacks on shipyards in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

The Russian landing ship Minsk and the Rostov-on-Don Kilo-class attack submarine were hit by a combined cruise missile and drone strike on the Sevastopol shipyard in southern Crimea on September 13.

Satellite photos shared by OSINT researcher MT Anderson on X, formerly Twitter, showed the Minsk has since been stripped of its parts, indicating it was heavily damaged to the point of being beyond repair.