ISW: Strike On Sevastopol Causes Hysteria Among Russian Propagandists

American analysts assessed the consequences of the attack.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces' strike on temporarily occupied Sevastopol on September 13 caused hysteria among Russian propagandists, as expected. In particular, Vladimir Solovyov, a well-known Kremlin presenter, was outraged and called for a retaliatory attack on the Western facilities that produced the missiles used by Ukraine.

This was noted by analysts of the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). At the same time, they also noted that Solovyov's calls for an escalation of relations with the West were boilerplate rhetoric for his domestic audience, but did not reflect the Kremlin's real position on the issue.

Meanwhile, Russian "war correspondents" expressed concern that the Ukrainian strike foreshadows an intensification of Ukraine's campaign to de-occupy Crimea.

Analysts noted that satellite images published on September 12 showed one large 'Minsk' (NATO-codified as Ropucha) landing ship and one 'Rostov-on-Don' (NATO-codified as Kilo) submarine in dry dock. Meanwhile, satellite images released on September 13 show that the Ukrainian missile strike probably destroyed both ships.

"The apparent destruction of the two ships is likely to result in making the dry dock out of service before the Russian forces are able to clear the debris, which could take a considerable amount of time. The extent of damage to Sevmorzavod's repair facilities outside the dry dock is unclear," ISW noted.