UK Intelligence confirms significant damage to Russian ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak

UK Defence Intelligence has noted that the Olenegorsky Gornyak ship, which was attacked the day before in the port of Novorossiysk, has become the largest seriously damaged Russian warship after the sinking of the Moskva cruiser.

During the night of 3-4 August 2023, the Russian Navy landing ship Olenegorsky Gornyak almost certainly suffered serious damage after being struck while near the Black Sea Fleet’s (BSF) Novorossiysk base, UK Ministry of Defence wrote on Twitter on 5 August, Caliber.Az reports.

Images of the vessel listing at 30-40 degrees suggest that several watertight compartments were breached, or that the crew’s damage control efforts were ineffectual.

Routinely assigned to Russia’s Northern Fleet, the vessel has augmented the BSF since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and has often ferried military and civilian traffic between Russia and occupied Crimea when the Kerch Bridge has been disrupted due to attacks.

The 3600-tonne, 113-metre-long Olenegorsky Gornyak represents the largest Russian naval vessel seriously damaged or destroyed since the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on 13 April 2022.

This is a significant blow to the BSF, which previously relocated most of its units to Novorossiysk due to the high threat to Sevastopol.

On the night of 3-4 August, explosions were heard in Novorossiysk, and the Russian Ministry of Defence reported an attack by two uncrewed surface vessels.

An uncrewed surface vessel damaged the large landing ship Olenegorskiy Gornyak in the attack.