The Defense Forces’ operation to strike a Russian submarine in the port of Novorossiysk was quite complex and sophisticated. This is already the second enemy submarine destroyed by Ukraine.
This was stated on a TV broadcast by the spokesperson of the Ukrainian Navy, Dmytro Pletenchuk.
“This is already the second submarine, so they’ve now set such an anti-record. Accordingly, there are still two such submarines left, and one submarine that does not carry cruise missiles. Overall, the Russians once had six submarines in the Black Sea,” Pletenchuk said.
He reminded that the first submarine, Rostov-on-Don, was struck by Ukraine back in 2024. That was the first submarine any country lost in combat since World War II.
Pletenchuk added that the operation to strike the Russian Project 636.3 “Varshavyanka”-class submarine was difficult because the Novorossiysk base is heavily protected, and recently Russia has avoided keeping its ships and submarines in the Black Sea precisely due to the risk of being struck.
“In this operation, which has many layers—from developing the strike means itself to planning, while preventing information leaks—carrying it out is a complex and quite challenging task,” Pletenchuk said.
He also noted that during the off-season, navigation for ships of this class is difficult, particularly from mid-autumn to mid-spring, making it challenging to leave this base.
“They are forced to stay there and, in case of any threat, change their mooring positions—that is, move ships or leave the base to avoid being struck. And here, as you can see, they felt no danger at all,” Pletenchuk said.
