The Black Sea Fleet of Russia for the first time officially recognized the loss of the large landing ship "Saratov", which was destroyed by missile strikes in the port of occupied Berdyansk on March 24, 2022.
"Krym.Realii" ["Crimea. Realities"] writes that the commander of the Crimean base of the Black Sea Fleet Felix Menkov recognized the destruction of the ship.
During the opening in Sevastopol of a memorial plaque to the fallen sailors of the amphibious assault ship brigade, Menkov informed about the loss of the LLC [large landing craft] "Saratov" and also acknowledged the losses among the sailors of the amphibious assault ships "Cesar Kunikov" and "Novocherkask". These ships were damaged a year ago together with the LLC "Orsk". All of them were in the group with "Saratov".
The publication emphasizes that this is the first official confirmation of the loss of the ship. Previously, the Russian military denied everything.
On this occasion, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi showed a video of the destruction of "Saratov".
- Immediately after the attacks on the ships in the port, the Navy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that the captains of the ships "Saratov" and "Novocherkask" were traitors to Ukraine — Volodymyr Khramchenkov and Yurii Pavlov. In 2014, they sided with the Russians after the annexation of Crimea.