Smoke Rising From Anti-Submarine Ship Adds to Russian Black Sea Fleet Woes

One of Russia's anti-submarine vessels in its Black Sea Fleet has been damaged, new footage appears to show, in what would be another blow to the Russian navy in Crimea, if confirmed.

New clips circulating online appear to show a small Russian surface vessel, described as an anti-submarine ship, surrounded by smoke in Sevastopol, a city and seaport on the southern tip of the Crimean Peninsula.

Newsweek has not been able to independently verify the clips and has reached out to Russia's Defense Ministry for comment via email.

The Black Sea Fleet, which is based in Sevastopol and the Russian port city of Novorossiysk, has been vital to Moscow in projecting its influence in the Black Sea and wider, out to the Mediterranean. The Kremlin annexed Crimea in 2014 and has controlled the territory south of mainland Ukraine ever since.

Ukraine has vowed to reclaim the peninsula, which has come under increasing attacks since Kyiv started its summer counteroffensive in the country's east and south in early June. Russia has relocated some of its military assets away from Crimea to Novorossiysk after Ukrainian strikes, the U.K. government said earlier this month.

Russia's Black Sea Fleet is "no longer able to operate in the western part of the Black Sea and is gradually fleeing from Crimea," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this month. "This is a historic achievement."

The 20-month-long war in Ukraine has not been kind to Russia's Black Sea fleet, not least to its surface vessels, which Moscow has allowed to "atrophy," retired U.S. Navy Admiral James Foggo told Newsweek in April.

So far, Ukraine has not commented on any possible Ukrainian actions in Sevastopol. Newsweek has contacted Ukraine's navy for comment via email.

In 2022, Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, sank within weeks of the outbreak of full-scale war. The sinking was thought to be the work of Ukrainian Neptune missiles. A Russian frigate, the Admiral Makarov, then took over the role of Black Sea flagship and became a target for Kyiv.

The Russian tanker SIG and the Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship were struck by Ukrainian fire earlier this year.

Last month, Ukraine damaged Russia's Rostov-on-Don submarine—believed to be the first Russian sub hit during the war—and the Minsk landing ship at the Ordzhonikidze shipyard in Sevastopol, thanks to British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles.

In a clip shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Ukraine's Defense Ministry on Tuesday, Kyiv described the SIG tanker as "easy prey" for Ukraine's fleet of naval drones. The Olenegorsky Gornyak had "an unfortunate encounter" with Ukraine's crewless surface vessels, Ukraine added.

"The frigate Admiral Makarov, that used to target peaceful Ukrainian homes with Kalibr missiles, suffered damage itself during an attack on Sevastopol, with at least one sea drone striking the ship," Ukraine said in the video.

Ukraine has publicized its effective use of its "SeaBaby" naval drones, which the video described as "the next best thing" to a sizable navy.

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