Pictures emerge of damaged Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don

Photos have emerged of the damage caused to the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don, which was hit in an attack on the night of 13 September.

Source: Oryx; Conflict Intelligence Team

Details: The images depict large holes in the submarine's bow and the hull's centre.

The news outlet Defense Express noted that previously, only satellite images of the occupied Sevastopol waters taken after the 13 September attack were publicly available. Based on the pictures, it was possible to assume that the Rostov-on-Don submarine was damaged in the bow, and the nature of the damage means that it will take many years to repair and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Update: The Conflict Intelligence Team (CIT), which published the images, notes that the submarine was hit twice. The first of them is located on top in the bow of the submarine, which was previously reported by experts on the basis of satellite images. The second hit was on the starboard side of the boat in the area behind the wheelhouse. Unlike the first, it was impossible to detect on satellite imagery.

Quote from CIT: "Norwegian independent naval analyst Thor Are Iversen, whom we provided these photos with, believes that both hits penetrated the submarine's strong hull. As a result, the torpedo and accommodation compartments were damaged, as well as possibly the auxiliary rooms behind the latter and the batteries. It is unclear from the pictures from the outside how much the other compartments were burned out; it depends on whether the hatches between the compartments were closed. 

In the expert's opinion, damage of this degree will probably take the submarine out of the active fleet until the end of the war." 

More details: At the same time, its theoretically possible repair will require the submarine to be transported to the Admiralty Shipyards in St. Petersburg. CIT's source reports, repairs of this scale are unprofitable, and it would be easier to build a new boat of the same class.

Background:

• On the night of 13 September, the Russian proxy occupying "authorities" of Sevastopol reported a fire at a shipyard in the Kilen-Balka area, and the Russian Ministry of Defence claimed an attack with missiles and uncrewed vessels.
• OSINT researchers reported that two vessels were damaged at a shipyard in occupied Sevastopol: a Ropucha-class large landing ship and a Kilo-class submarine. The Russian Telegram channel Baza said the attack damaged the large landing ship Minsk and the diesel-electric submarine Rostov-on-Don, which was launched only in 2014 and carries Kalibr cruise missiles used by Russia to attack Ukrainian cities.
• UK Defence Intelligence reported that the Rostov-on-Don submarine and the Minsk landing ship had been critically damaged in the Ukrainian strike. Analysts believe any effort to bring the submarine back into service will likely take many years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
• On the afternoon of 13 September, Lieutenant General Mykola Oleshchuk, Commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, thanked Ukrainian pilots for their efficient work in temporarily occupied Sevastopol. 
• Special Operations Forces informed that attacks on the Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don and the landing ship Minsk on the night of 13 September were carried out by the Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

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