This Monday, the Russian military ministry claimed that Russian forces had destroyed the final warship of Ukraine in the port of Odesa.
According to Igor Konashenkov, the spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry, the final warship of the Ukrainian navy, the Yuriy Olefirenko, was destroyed while moored at a warship docking facility in the port of Odesa.
Russian Alleges Precise Missile Strike on Ukrainian Warship
Russia claims that the Yuriy Olefirenko was targeted on Monday using highly precise missiles. However, Ukraine has not yet confirmed the incident, although it acknowledged that heavy Russian airstrikes caused damage to the infrastructure of the Odesa port on the same day.
At present, the claims made by both sides have not been independently verified. It is worth noting that Russia has rarely targeted the port since signing the UN-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative last year.
This agreement allowed Ukraine to resume grain exports through the Black Sea, thereby assisting in mitigating a global food crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion.
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Ukrainian Forces’ Successful Liberation of Kherson
The Yuriy Olefirenko, a Soviet-era landing ship, is believed to have played a significant role in Ukrainian operations, particularly during the liberation of Kherson, a city near the Black Sea coast along the Dnipro River, last year. It likely supported Ukrainian missions on the Kinburn Spit, a narrow strip extending into the Black Sea where it intersects with the Dnipro River.
Control over this piece of land determines the regulation of ship traffic between the ports of Kherson and Mykolaiv and the Black Sea.
Ukrainian forces successfully liberated Kherson in November of the previous year. Currently, Russian and Ukrainian troops are engaged in a deadly battle in the nearby islands, marshes, and inlets of the Dnipro delta, according to recent reports.
Despite the potential destruction of the ship, Frederik Mertens, an analyst at the Hague Center for Strategic Studies, opines that it has little impact on Ukraine’s Navy offensive capabilities.
Mertens explains that the vessel, constructed in 1970, has limited capacity and can only transport around four Ukrainian tanks. In comparison, larger ships deployed in the 20th century could carry four times that number, as stated by Mertens.
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