The Rostov-on-Don was reportedly one of four submarines operated by Russia’s Black Sea fleet. Its demise will likely fuel concerns among Russian authorities that spies are tipping off Ukrainian commanders on the best moments to attack.
H.I. Sutton, an independent naval analyst, said the submarine was in the middle of repairs when it was attacked, after being damaged in a Ukrainian strike last year.
“The submarine was hit by Storm Shadow last year. Since then it was moved to a separate berth where it remained vulnerable to a follow-up attack. As happened this morning,” he said on Saturday.
“Contrary to some reporting it hadn’t been fully repaired but this attack should close the chapter.”
Russia’s Kilo-class submarines were originally designed in the Soviet Union but the programme was updated in the 1990s and several more were built through the 2000s.
They are diesel-powered and considered the most reliable submarines in the Kremlin’s fleet, having been used to fire missiles from the Black Sea at Ukrainian cities.
The initial strike on the Rostov-on-Don last September infuriated Vladimir Putin who sacked the commander of his Black Sea Fleet and ordered sailors to be given extra drills on how to defend against missile and drone attacks.
Ukraine has pummelled the Black Sea Fleet at its main bases in Crimea, forcing it to retreat to Novorossiysk, 400km away. The Russian Ministry of Defence said it would build a new base in Abkhazia, a Kremlin-backed Georgian rebel region, 640km from Crimea.
On Ukraine’s front line, Russia said its soldiers had seized the village of Novoselivka Persha, the latest in a string of advances, and also claimed that its forces had planted a flag on a road that Ukrainian officials have previously described as a “critical” resupplying route.
The T0504 highway runs from the town of Kostyantynivka, south of Chasiv Yar to Bakhmut.
Ukraine’s road of life
Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin propagandist, said: “This highway runs along the front line and was previously actively used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to transfer units and weapons.
“In the future, this route will be used by the Russian army for the same function.”
Reports also said that in the town of Chasiv Yar, which has seen some of the fiercest fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces this year, Russian soldiers had breached a canal that runs through its centre.
Chasiv Yar is considered a key target for the Russian army as it lies on high ground above a valley that connects three towns used by the Ukrainian army as organisational hubs for its military.
Strategists have said that if Chasiv Yar falls, the Ukrainian front line will become far more fragile as the Russian military will dominate and shell the towns below.
