New Evidence Surfaces: Devastating Images Unveil Russian Askold Missile Carrier’s Destruction in Kerch

New Evidence Surfaces: Devastating Images Unveil Russian Askold Missile Carrier’s Destruction in Kerch

The first images of a destroyed Russian Askold missile carrier in the Zaliv shipyard in Crimea have surfaced online. According to Ukraine’s Centre for Strategic Communications (StratCom), the ship has suffered significant damage and may be beyond repair. Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of Ukraine’s Air Force, reported that Ukrainian pilots conducted airstrikes on the Zaliv shipbuilding yard in Kerch, but it was initially unclear if the ship had been destroyed. The Russians initially claimed that fragments of downed missiles had fallen on one of the dry docks. However, the Russian Defence Ministry later confirmed that a ship from Russia’s Black Sea Fleet stationed at the Kerch shipyard had been damaged. Oleshchuk subsequently confirmed that the Ukrainian military had sunk a Kalibr cruise missile carrier, one of the most advanced ships in Russia’s Black Sea Fleet.