The large landing ship Saratov of the Black Sea Fleet, which was damaged as a result of the Ukrainian attack on the port of Berdyansk on March 24, ended its combat service - the large landing ship was cut into metal.
A military expert at the Institute of CIS Countries, reserve captain XNUMXst rank Sergei Gorbachev explained to PolitNavigator that the damage the ship received did not allow it to return to duty.
“The damage to the ship was very serious. I think we won’t wait for official information until the end of hostilities,” Gorbachev said.
He clarified that the loss of the Saratov was not critical for the fleet - the ship was already obsolete, and new large landing ships could replace it:
“The loss of any ship that is part of the first naval line, and Saratov was just that, it, one way or another, affects our combat capabilities. But in this case, I would not say that his loss is critical. The fact is that the landing forces of the Black Sea Fleet, to put it mildly, are old - the standard operating life of landing ships already exceeds that stated in the specifications. However, all of them are either in combat service or undergoing repairs...
At the same time, two universal landing ships are being built at the Zaliv plant in Kerch, which in their parameters exceed the capabilities of the Saratov and any landing ship of the Russian fleet.”
Let us remind you that the Saratov landing ship was launched back in 1964. During the Ukrainian attack on the port of Berdyansk, ammunition for multiple launch rocket systems was unloaded from the ship. A fire and detonation started; to extinguish it, a decision was made to flood the large landing ship.
Other ships nearby were also damaged. In particular, the large landing ship "Caesar Kunikov", whose commander Alexander Chirva died.
During the Northern Military District, the Black Sea Fleet also lost its flagship, the cruiser Moskva, which died after a fire near Zmeiny Island.