Ukraine has destroyed a submarine valued at £275m and prized by Putin in a missile attack on Russian-occupied Crimea.
The kilo-class ship, named Rostov-on-Don, was shot down during a massive missile barrage, Ukrainian forces confirmed.
The submarine, used to fire .50-caliber class missiles toward Ukraine, had been repaired from previous damage after being attacked in September last year.
Dramatic footage from last year showed a gaping hole torn into the submarine during last year’s Ukrainian attacks.
It was due to return to service when it was sunk by Ukrainian forces off Sevastopol on Friday night.
A prized Russian Kilo-class submarine was sunk by a missile attack, Ukrainian forces confirmed
The Rostov ship had already been targeted by Ukrainian forces last September, when a huge hole opened in its hull.
The submarine was repaired and was due to return to service when it was hit again and sank during sea trials.
The attack is also believed to have hit Russia’s ultra-modern S400 air defence systems (pictured, in operation on Friday evening).
The ship was conducting sea trials when it was hit by deadly US-built ATACMAS missiles.
Russia’s ultra-modern S-400 air systems, valued at £2bn, were also “significantly damaged” in the attack, the ministry said. Sun reported.
The downing of the prized submarine is a major blow to Zelensky’s forces, who also confirmed that the attack had hit four launchers of Putin’s Triumf air defence system.
This comes after Russia suffered another major setback when two of its warships worth £170m were hit in an attack on Sevastopol.
The landing ships Yamal and Azov were shot down during an attack on the Black Sea port.
The footage shows the massive attacks on Sevastopol overnight. The attack comes days after Admiral Alexander Moiseev, 61, was appointed commander-in-chief of the Russian navy after the dictator abruptly sacked the previous incumbent.
The landing ships Yamal and Azov (pictured), each worth £170m, were hit in the overnight attack while in the Black Sea naval port of Sevastopol, according to reports.
The Yamal and Ropucha class landing ships would have a normal crew of 98
Image of the attack that occurred last night in the city of Sevastopol, considered the heaviest bombing of the city to date
British-made Storm Shadow missiles are believed to have been used in what was the biggest bombardment of the Crimean port to date.
Ukrainian Telegram channel Pravda Gerashchenko reported: ‘In occupied Sevastopol, the Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully attacked the large landing ships Yamal and Azov, the communications center and a number of infrastructure facilities of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.’
Both ships are 369 feet long and were built in Gdansk, Poland, during the Soviet era, but have since been modernized and are believed to have a crew of 98 and 87 respectively.
Complex plans are also afoot to destroy a £3bn bridge linking annexed Crimea to Russia.
