The Ukrainian Navy sank its largest battleship, Hetman Saydachny, which was partially destroyed during repairs in the town of Mykolaiv, near the Black Sea coast.
It was impossible to mount it in time to confront the Russians and restore its combat capability.
According to the local website Dumskaya, Ukrainian intelligence had received information that a special operation was being planned by Moscow’s naval special forces to capture Hetman Saydachny.
Therefore, it was ordered that, in the event of an attack, the hull was carefully filled with water, supporting the ship at the bottom of the river, where the shipyard was repaired.
“The commander in chief of the Ukrainian Navy ordered the sinking of the ship Hetman Sagadachny, which was under repair, so that it could not be captured by the enemy. It is difficult to imagine a more difficult decision for a brave warrior. And his whole Team. But we are going to build a new, modern and powerful fleet. The important thing now is to resist,” Defense Minister Oleksey Reznikov said in a Facebook post on Friday (4).
Now, in order to raise the ship, the Russian invaders would have to conduct a lengthy operation, something very difficult in hostile conditions. In the future, in theory, the frigate will again be able to gain buoyancy and repair work can proceed.
Hetman was the only large ship for the Sahaidachny Ukraine Which remained after Russia captured the Crimean peninsula and seized a number of Ukrainian ships.
See areas of Ukraine that are already under Russian control
Russians move on Mykolaivo
Russian forces are moving to seize the port city of Mykolaiv, a key point of a Russian effort to seize control of the Black Sea coast. Ukraine,
Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said in an interview on Thursday that Russian forces that had captured the southern city of Kherson on Wednesday were moving northwest towards his city.
