First pictures show devastating close-up damage to Putin’s submarine Rostov-on-Don in Storm Shadow strike

The first images have emerged showing in detail the devastation of a Russian attack submarine caused by a Storm Shadow missile.

The £250m Kilo-class submarine attack ship Rostov-on-Don was hit on September 13 at a repair yard in the Russian Black Sea port of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea.

The images, obtained by investigative journalists from the Conflict Intelligence Team, show the extent of the damage caused to the submarine while it was in dry dock.

It appears to have been hit twice by missiles supplied to Ukraine by Britain and France, which left large holes in the hull and ruined the internal mechanics.

The CIT report suggests that the submarine’s habitable compartments and other areas were also damaged, meaning Rostov-on-Don will likely not participate in the war again.

The images, obtained by investigative journalists from the Conflict Intelligence Team, show the extent of the damage caused to the submarine while it was in dry dock.

Massacre on Putin’s large landing ship Minsk following Ukrainian missile attack on Sevastopol shipyard

A mast aboard the Minsk is damaged after the attack

The Rostov-on-Don submarine (pictured) was knocked out in an early morning missile attack against Crimea on September 13, 2023.

A large hole “is located on the top of the submarine’s bow,” as indicated by earlier satellite images of the stricken ship that was used by Putin to attack Ukraine during the war.

«The second impact occurred on the starboard side of the ship, in the area behind the command post.

“Unlike the first, it cannot be recorded from satellite images,” the report says.

The strike at the shipyard also caused serious damage to the large landing ship Minsk.

Some Ukrainian sources have claimed that Russia has covered up the deaths of 24 people in the attack.

On the same day, a ‘Sea Baby’ kamikaze drone damaged the Russian missile hovercraft Samum near the port of Sevastopol, while a marine drone also damaged the Vasily Bykov patrol boat.

The attacks on the Black Sea port come as the European Union prepares for a fight over what should be included in its 12th sanctions package over Russia’s war in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

The new measures, which could be unveiled as soon as next month, would likely include the EU’s version of the upcoming G7 ban on Russian diamond purchases and possibly a long-awaited proposal to use profits generated by the central bank’s frozen assets to help to Kiev. The report added, citing people familiar with the discussions.

Meanwhile, in Russia, China’s top diplomat heads to Moscow to discuss military and security cooperation between the two nations.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who simultaneously holds the ruling Communist Party’s top foreign policy post, will be in Russia from Monday to Thursday to hold strategic security consultations between China and Russia, the Foreign Ministry said in a brief release.

The United States and China are at odds over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China has refrained from taking sides in the war, saying that while a country’s territory must be respected, the West must consider Russia’s security concerns over NATO expansion.

He has accused the United States of prolonging the fighting by providing weapons to Ukraine, weaponry that the United States says is necessary to defend itself against Russian aggression.

Chinese Communist Party foreign policy chief Wang Yi will be in Moscow for security meetings this week.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting on the draft 2024 federal budget and the 2025 and 2026 planning period, via video link at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 18, 2023.

Wang’s trip to Moscow comes a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un left Russia following a six-day visit that included talks with President Vladimir Putin at a Far East spaceport, visits to aircraft plants and inspections. of strategic bombers with nuclear capabilities and an advanced warship.

China and Russia have grown closer as relations with the West have deteriorated for both, and China is seeking support as it seeks to reshape the U.S.-led international order into one that better suits its approach.

Last month, he helped engineer an expansion of the BRICS partnership, which invited six more countries to join what has been a five-nation bloc that includes China and Russia.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao Ning called Wang’s visit to Russia a routine visit for in-depth talks on important strategic security interests.

Wang resigned as foreign minister late last year, taking the top job of foreign affairs chief of the Communist Party, but was recalled as foreign minister in July after his successor, Qin Gang, disappeared from the public viewing.

It is unclear what happened to Qin, but he may have fallen out of favor with the leaders.

More recently, China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu has also not been seen in about three weeks, sparking speculation about his fate.

It is unusual for two sitting Cabinet members to disappear from view, although it does not appear to indicate any obvious change in foreign or defense policy.

The Chinese government has said nothing about Li’s disappearance. When asked about it on Monday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Mao said he was not aware of the situation.