Illustrative photo/Russian Ministry of Defence/Yamal
On March 24th, the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported the destruction of two large amphibious assault ships, Yamal and Azov, based in Sevastopol. Ukrainian forces managed to disable more than half of the group of ships that Russia had assembled in the Black Sea before launching a full-scale invasion.
Yamal and Azov are large amphibious assault ships of Project 775. They are equipped to carry two artillery pieces, two multiple launch rocket systems, and four anti-aircraft guns. In total, they can accommodate up to 10 medium tanks and 340 paratroopers.
This was stated by Volodymyr Zablotskyi, a naval expert and columnist for Defense Express, during an interview on Hromadske Radio.
Additionally, on March 25th, information emerged about possible damage to the large amphibious assault ship Ivan Khurs during a previous strike on Sevastopol. The vessel was undergoing repairs there after being damaged last year at sea by MAGURA crewless boats. Despite suffering a hole in its side, the ship managed to reach Sevastopol.
«These are serial landing ships, just like the Ognegorsky Gornyak, which was shot down near Novorossiysk, like the Novocherkassk, which was destroyed in Feodosia, and like the Caesar Kunikov, which was sunk near Yalta recently. The Yamal and Azov belong to the Black Sea Fleet. They are Polish-built, Project 775, with a displacement of about two thousand tonnes, designed to land on an unequipped coast. They can carry an infantry battalion or armored vehicles – 10 tanks or a corresponding number of armored personnel carriers, depending on the task. Russia does not have many such ships left, so on the eve of the full-scale invasion, they moved six more ships from the Baltic in addition to those in the Black Sea. Thus, a powerful group of 14 large amphibious assault ships of three designs was created in the Black Sea: 11711, the Pyotr Morgunov from the Northern Fleet, 775, and two more 1171s, outdated ships dating back to the 1960s. These are not new, but serviceable and the most popular vessels in the Russian fleet», — Zablotskyi explained.
The destruction and damage to Russian ships hinder enemy logistics, including the delivery of ammunition to Crimea, Zablotskyi noted.
«Today, the destruction or damage to these vessels will make it impossible to use them even as military transport, which provides logistics for the Crimean group of occupation forces, including the delivery of ammunition, drones, which are then launched every night in the direction of Ukraine.
Thus, the Russians have one newer ship from the Baltic States, which they are hiding in Novorossiysk, so it has never participated in any operation, three Project 775 ships also from the Baltic Fleet, and two very old Project 1171 ships. There is not a single operational Project 775 ship of the Black Sea Fleet left in their ranks – all of them are either sunk or damaged».
Earlier, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps, commenting on the defeat of two Russian large amphibious assault ships in the port of Sevastopol, said that the Russian fleet in the Black Sea is now «functionally inactive».
«Russia has been sailing the Black Sea since 1783, but now it is forced to limit its fleet to the port. And even there, Putin’s ships are sinking!», — the minister wrote on social media.