Russia’s Olenegorsky Gornyak landing ship unlikely to return to service – Ukrainian Navy

The Olenegorsky Gornyak large landing ship recently struck by a naval drone off the coast of the Novorossiysk port in Russia, is unlikely to return to service any time soon.

That’s according to Dmytro Pletenchuk, the spokesman for Ukraine’s Naval Command, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"As for Gornyak, which had been deployed from the Northern Fleet, we are sure that she will not return to service," he said.

Answering a question about the behavior of the Russian forces in the Black Sea, Pletenchuk noted that the Russians are trying to show that they are allegedly masters in the region. The spokesman expressed confidence that Ukrainians will be able to prove different.

"It’s due to the violation of coastal warnings, which only Ukraine should issue in Ukrainian waters, it’s a result of violation of the ban on the use of the Kerch Strait that such cases occur with the Black Sea Fleet of the so-called Russian Federation (when their warships get damaged - ed.). And we can assure you that these are not the last such cases that will happen to them. Because, as we can see, they are not going to stop in their aggressive policy in the shared sea," said the Navy spokesman.

Answering the question of what the Russians are doing to protect their warships, he said they were taking a series of measures to protect their fleet as much as possible, including by staying away from possible locations where they may be affected.

"However, we are a civilized country. We also issued a coastal warning regarding the water area closer to the Russian shores because these areas are dangerous, and we say so frankly. And it is dangerous, first of all, because of the actions of the Russians in the Black Sea," Pletenchuk believes.

As reported, in Novorossiysk Bay, a surface drone damaged the large landing ship operated by the Russian Navy, the Olenegorsky Gornyak.