Ability of Ukrainian forces to hit Kerch will force Russians to withdraw ships further from front line – British intelligence

11:27, 07.11.2023 1 min read

The defeat of the Askold missile carrier in Kerch, much further east than most previous targets hit by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, will force the Russians to further relocate ships away from the front line, which will delay the delivery of new ships, British intelligence believes.

"The KARAKURST-class Askold, launched in 2021, had not been commissioned into the Russian Navy. The incident is farther to the east in Crimea than most previous Ukrainian-claimed long-range strikes," the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland said in a report on Tuesday morning.

"Ukraine's capability to hit Crimean shipbuilding infrastructure will likely cause Russia to consider relocating farther from the front line, delaying the delivery of new vessels," British experts conclude.

As noted in the report, citing Ukrainian and Russian sources, "on 4 November 2023, a newly built Russian naval corvette was almost certainly damaged after being struck while alongside at the Zaliv shipyard in Kerch, occupied Crimea."