1/ Only three bodies are reported to have been recovered from the wreckage of the large landing ship Novocherkassk, destroyed by a Ukrainian missile strike in the port of Feodosia. The rest of the Russian Black Sea Fleet has reportedly left the port due to its vulnerability. 
2/ Recent pictures published by the 'Crimean Wind' Telegram channel show the remains of the ship being lifted from the water by a large floating crane. It seems clear that the Novocherkassk was completely demolished by the explosion that sank her.
3/ According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, only three remains were recovered but have not been identified due to the effects of the fire, explosion and submersion in water. DNA testing is being carried out.
4/ 33 contract sailors and 4 conscripts reportedly remain missing. The military authorities are, as usual, telling the relatives nothing. Families have mounted their own efforts to find their relatives, ranging from consulting fortune-tellers to posting appeals on social media.
5/ One such appeal says: "We are looking for guys serving on December 26, 2023 on the BDK NOVOCHERKASSK! Who, presumably, were hospitalized from Feodosia from 26-29 December 2023 to burn centers (Moscow, Rostov, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg and there may be other cities).
6/ Perhaps the guys were put into a medical coma, perhaps they are under other people’s names."
This seems unlikely, however, as there have been no reports to suggest that injured survivors are still unidentified somewhere more than 40 days after the sinking.
This seems unlikely, however, as there have been no reports to suggest that injured survivors are still unidentified somewhere more than 40 days after the sinking.
7/ Information about the sole confirmed fatality, senior sailor Igor Meshcheryakov, appears to be being suppressed. After his death was publicised, online obituaries commemorating Meshcheryakov were deleted.
https://twitter.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1753113628201590878
8/ The girlfriend of the youngest known missing sailor, 19-year-old Vlad Yaremenko, has spoken in an audio message about the relatives' struggle to find out what has happened to the other crewmen:
"Vlad was on a business trip on Novocherkassk. We were all told he was missing.
"Vlad was on a business trip on Novocherkassk. We were all told he was missing.
10/ "We already understood that he was in the shit, because we learnt the news that this ship was attacked. And then already relatives began to call on the hotline of the Ministry of Defence, then they only said that they were working on the missing or dead, ...
11/ "... that the search was continuing. But all these captains who are handling these cases, they keep quiet perfectly well. We don't know if they don't know, but they don't say anything. They just keep it all to themselves.
12/ "Me too, us from the warehouse, aunty, we called all the hospitals to find out if there's some [people] lying around. They don't say anything either. It's useless to call numbers, to find out if they're in this hospital or that hospital.
13/ "They have orders to keep quiet. That's why we wait and hope. It's been a long time. It's been 41 days and nothing is known. They don't tell us how many bodies have been found, they don't tell us. There is no official information." /end
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