Expert: Damaged ‘Olenegorsky Gornyak’ Was ‘Heart’ Of Russian Fleet

The damaged craft could land troops in Odesa.

Israeli military analyst David Sharp commented on the drone strike on the Olenegorsky Gornyak major landing craft right in Novorossiysk (the Russian Federation).

“This is definitely a great success for Ukraine, from a military point of view, and a big failure of the Black Sea Fleet for the Russian Federation. One of the many failures in this war,” the expert said.

He recalled that earlier, unmanned vehicles had repeatedly dealt strikes against warships of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, but every time “something went wrong.” In particular, according to David Sharp, even when a drone with a combative charge managed to get close to a Russian vessel, the target did not receive damage or the damages were insignificant. For example, in the case of the Russian “Admiral Makarov” frigate.

As the expert spoke about possible issues with the warhead of Ukrainian drones, and anyway, the Russian Federation definitely failed, since “the enemy was allowed to approach the targets too close.”

“But now, as they say, bingo: in addition to the fact that we managed to get close to the ship and hit it, the target, apparently, received very serious damage... They hit the heart of the Russian fleet - right in Novorossiysk. The goal has been reached. The result is impressive,” emphasizes the analyst.

According to him, the ‘Olenegorsky Gornyak’ landing craft is a rather valuable vessel for Russia.

“Such warships are playing a huge role in the so-called ‘Syrian Express’ [regular supply of weapons to Syria by Russian landing ships - Ed.], Also, during a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the purpose of these vessels is twofold. The first is theoretically, landing in Odesa and the Odesa region, which did not happen because Russia did not dare to take such a step,” David Sharp said.

Also, warships of this kind are important for the transportation of various cargoes, for example, from the Taman Peninsula (the Russian Federation) to the occupied Crimea. In this regard, the analyst recalled that in 2022, a similar Russian major landing craft, the Saratov, which was moored at the pier, had already been sunk in Berdiansk.

At the same time, the analyst notes the sinking or incapacitation of the Kalibr cruise missile carriers would be a more significant success for Ukraine.

“But such things can not always be performed ‘on request’. I think there will be attempts. But this [strike in Novorossiysk - Ed.] is also a tangible blow to the prestige of the Russian Federation and serious losses of property. This strike will force the Russian command to seek some resources to defend their naval bases, to protect their fleet,” the specialist said.

The expert believes Russia can't withdraw its fleet deployed. In particular, Ukraine demonstrated this by hitting a target in Novorossiysk, which is located much further than Sevastopol.