Russian Navy - News and Analysis

On July 11th, two Ropucha class landing vessels were used in a civilian role ferrying civilian traffic across the Kerch Strait. This use of amphibious landing vessels breaks a pattern, namely the use of these vessels to transport heavy military equipment from Novorossiysk towards Sevastopol in support of Russian military logistics for the troops fighting in southern Ukraine. It also raises questions with regards to the Kerch Bridge. If civilian traffic needs to be diverted and transported across the Kerch Strait by amphibious landing vessels, could this indicate that the bridge is facing severe limitations in the amount of traffic it can support? Background Prior to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Navy significantly increased the amphibious lift capacity of the Black Sea Fleet. This increase was done by transferring three Ropucha class landing vessels of both the Northern Fleet as the Baltic Fleet. These six vessels entered the Black Sea o n February 8th, 2022 and have r...

On the evening of April 13 the Slava class cruiser Moskva, flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, was reportedly struck by Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. The details the attacks are unavailable to obtain through OSINT and in the 24 hours following the attack several pieces of information and speculation have come to attention that allows us to piece together the broad lines of the attack and its aftermath. The Slava class cruiser Moskva operated in the vicinity of Snake Island. This area has been her standard area of operations since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From this position, the vessel is able to dominate the maritime approaches towards the Ukrainian coast, most notably towards Odessa. The cruiser is also equipped with a battery of 64 S-300F surface to air missiles, allowing it to set up an zone in which Ukrainian aircraft are at risk of operating. It is unknown if the cruiser was operating on its own or if she was near other vessels that acted as an escort...