What Is Russia's 'Askold' Ship: Kalibr-Carrying Boat Hit in Ukraine Strike

Russia's Askold cruise-missile carrier, which was struck during Ukrainian attack on a shipyard in annexed Crimea, was undergoing final testing when it was damaged last week, according to a Ukrainian official.

California-based global-imaging company Planet Labs released satellite images that appear to show the aftermath of a Ukrainian strike on the small Russian cruise missile carrier on November 4, on the Zaliv shipyard, also referred to as Butoma, in east Crimea. The images were obtained by Schemes, a project by U.S.-funded Radio Liberty.

Strikes in Crimea, Russia's central logistics hub for its forces in southern Ukraine, have become routine in recent months. Moscow appears to be moving its Black Sea Fleet away from the port of Sevastopol in Crimea to the port of Novorossiysk in Russia's Krasnodar Krai as a result, satellite images published last month showed.

Ukrainian attacks are focusing on military targets in a push to weaken Moscow's defenses and disrupt the Russians from transporting equipment, weapons and troops from mainland Russia into the peninsula.

"The ship hasn't even taken part in sailing or combat yet; it was undergoing some final testing work, so that it could then go to sea and fight against our state," Yuriy Ignat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's air force said during a broadcast on national television.

A launching ceremony was held for the Askold in occupied Kerch in September 2021, and it was designed by the Almaz Central Marine Design Bureau. It is reported to be armed with a modernized 76.2-mm AK-176 MA artillery mount, two AK-630M anti-aircraft artillery systems and a Kalibr strike missile system.

Radio Liberty reported in February 2022 that several ships were being built at a shipbuilding plant in Kerch, including the Askold.

Open Source Intelligence (OSINT) analyst MT Anderson said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that the satellite images suggested that, as of November 2, Askold was undergoing sea trials in Novorossiysk.

A source in the military-industrial complex told Russia's state-run news agency Tass in October 2022 that the Askold would complete tests this year.

"The Askold ship, armed with Caliber missiles and a naval version of the Pantsir complex, will complete sea trials in December and begin state trials at the beginning of 2023. Upon completion of the naval part of the test program, an audit of the ship will begin," the source said.

The Kremlin hasn't commented on reports that the Askold was damaged last week. Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

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

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

In September, a Ukrainian cruise-missile attack on the port of Sevastopol, damaged Russia's Minsk Ropucha-class landing ship and the Rostov-on-Don Kilo-class attack submarine.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.