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The government of Russia announced this Saturday that it recovered a ship used for landing tanks sunk by its crew after a Ukrainian missile attack damaged it in the port of Berdyansk on March 24.
A Telegram post from a Russian-appointed official in southern Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov, reported that the vessel was headed for the Moscow-controlled port.
The Russian crew scuttled the ship “to prevent the detonation of ammunition on board by the fire that had started,” Rogov said.
In March, Ukraine He said that he had hit the ship with his missiles, but it is now that there is an official confirmation by the Russian side.
Damage
Russian reports do not give details of the ship’s damage, but say it will be towed to Kerch in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
The Ukrainian military’s report on the March 24 missile attack named the ship Orsk, but Russia claimed the salvaged ship was named Saratov.
The Orsk is another of the six large tank landing ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.
The Russian fleet website confirmed that the Saratov was damaged and sunk on March 24, but makes no mention of the Ukrainian missile attack.
The ship “was damaged by the fire and the explosions caused by it,” says the website, contradicting the version given by Rogov.
“With damage to her hull, the ship sank in her berthing port,” the fleet website adds.
The 58-year-old Saratov joined the Soviet Navy in 1964.
It can carry up to 20 tanks, 45 armored personnel carriers or 50 trucks, as well as up to 400 marines.
The ship is 113 m long and can carry a load of up to 1,500 tons.
Berdyansk is located on the Sea of Azov, between the port city of Mariupol and Crimea.
The capture of Mariupol, now in ruins after months of bombing, was a key strategic objective for the Russian military.
The Ukrainian military also sank the flagship of the Russian Black Sea fleet, the Moskva missile cruiser, in April.
Russia has denied that the ship was sunk by a Ukrainian attack and says it was due to a “fire on board”.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
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