Ukraine hits Kostiantyn Olshanskyi ship in temporarily occupied Crimea
Sevastopol, temporarily occupied Crimea, Ukraine (Svidomi) — On March 24, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck the Russian-seized ship Kostiantyn Olshanskyi in the temporarily occupied Crimea (Qırım), Ukrainian Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk told on the air of the FreeDom TV channel.
Damage to the ship is being clarified.
On March 24, Ukraine also disabled the large amphibious assault ship Azov, the Yamal, and the reconnaissance ship Ivan Khurs.
The vessels will not be able to perform combat missions soon, Pletenchuk says.
"This ship was to be used against Ukraine. Therefore, it was decided to hit this unit with our Neptune (Ukrainian subsonic cruise missile — ed.)," the Ukrainian Navy spokesperson says.
In 2014, when Russia illegally occupied Crimea, the Ukrainians damaged the Kostiantyn Olshanskyi and disabled at least one of its engines. Since then, the vessel, which was based in the bay of Sevastopol (Aqyar), has been dismantled for spare parts and looted. Due to the lack of military hardware, the Russians have been trying to restore it since 2023.
On March 24, the Ukrainian military also hit a communications centre and several infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
At that time, only five large amphibious assault ships remained in service out of the 13 units available to the Russian Black Sea Fleet at the start of the full-scale invasion. If the damage to the Olshanskyi, Yamal and Azov vessels is serious, only two remain in service in Russia.
