As reported by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) under the command of Lieutenant General Vasyl Malyuk, a Russian submarine of the type Varshavyanka (Project 636.3, NATOImproved Kilo II) was sunk in the port of Novorossiysk.
The operation was carried out by the 13th Main Directorate of Military Counterintelligence of the SBU together with the Ukrainian Navy carried out.
A Ukrainian underwater drone of the Sub Sea Baby type was used as the weapon system. Little is known about this unmanned underwater drone. According to the Ukrainian military journal Militarnyi, three versions were developed: TLK 150, TLK 400 and TLK 1000.
The TLK 150 is to be around 2.5 meters long, have a range of around 100 kilometers and be able to carry a warhead weighing 20 to 50 kilograms. The TLK 400 can be built with a length of four to six meters and can transport a warhead weighing up to 500 kilograms over distances of up to 1,200 kilometers. With a length of four to twelve meters, the TLK 1000 should be able to carry a warhead weighing up to 5,000 kilograms. Back in June, a Ukrainian underwater drone was used to carry out an attack attack on a pillar of the Crimean bridge was carried out.
The 13th Main Military Counterintelligence Directorate of the Security Service of Ukraine is a special unit and has proven to be one of the most effective military formations in the country. It carries out special operations far behind the front line, including attacks with naval drones and UAV attacks on enemy infrastructure.
Varshavyanka submarines are diesel-electric cruise missile carriers. The boats are around 74 meters long and have a displacement of around 3,950 tons when submerged. They can dive to depths of up to 300 meters, have a crew of 52 and can remain at sea for up to 45 days. The armament consists of torpedoes and/or mines as well as up to four Kalibr cruise missiles.
The Ukrainian security service estimates the current replacement value of a Varshavyanka at over 400 million euros. The submarine that has now been hit is already the second boat of this class to be destroyed in the war of aggression against the Ukraine was at least severely damaged. The B-237 “Rostov-on-Don” was massively damaged when the Ukrainian armed forces attacked dry docks in Sevastopol with Storm Shadow missiles on September 13, 2023.
Russia denies sinking
Incidentally, the Russian side is talking about a failed operation instead of a submarine sinking. “The information disseminated by the Ukrainian secret services about the alleged ‘destruction’ of a Russian submarine in the bay of the Black Sea Fleet’s Novorossiysk naval base is not true,” says Captain Alexei Rulyev, head of the press office of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. Russian Black Sea Fleet.
Rulyev continued: “The enemy’s attempt to carry out sabotage with an unmanned underwater vehicle did not achieve its goals. No ship or submarine of the Black Sea Fleet stationed in the bay of the Novorossiysk naval base, as well as their crews, suffered damage as a result of the sabotage and therefore continue their service in normal mode.”
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