1/ More details have emerged about the destruction of the Russian large landing ship Novocherkassk on 26 December 2023. According to a report, the local air defence system was inoperative and could not intercept the two incoming Storm Shadow missiles. ⬇️
2/ Novocherkassk was reportedly under repair in Feodosiya from 17 November. She was due to undergo sea trials on 26 December and was being manned by a crew of up to 90 personnel who were seconded from three other large landing ships – the Yamal, Azov and Nikolai Filchenkov.
3/ Most of the personnel were professional (contracted) sailors, with 14 conscripts also present. Many were reportedly sleeping in cabins at the time of the attack, with the commanders on the navigation bridge. Almost all of those who were sleeping are said to have been killed.
4/ The ship was hit by two missiles which struck the bow and stern, causing the immediate deaths of dozens of the crew from the initial explosions and fragmentation. The entire ship exploded catastrophically 10 minutes later, but it seems that many of the crew escaped in time.
5/ The incoming Storm Shadows are reported to have been detected but the local air defence system had broken down a day before the attack and was inoperative. According to the Ukrainian resistance group Atesh, Russian air defence commanders are being punished for the lapse.
6/ Officially, 4 of the crew have died – 3 whose bodies were found in the wreckage and 1 who died in hospital – and 34 are 'missing', including 4 conscripts. Given that the explosion sent pieces of the ship flying over 600 m (1,970 ft), it seems unlikely they will be found. /end
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