In Crimea, the loss of the large landing ship “Saratov” was confirmed during the hostilities in 2022

In Sevastopol, a memorial plaque was opened to the sailors of the large landing ships (BDK) Saratov, Novocherkassk and Caesar Kunikov, who died during the military operation. At the event, the commander of the Crimean naval base of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation, Rear Admiral Felix Menkov, confirmed the loss of the Saratov large landing ship during the hostilities.

“A year ago, in the course of hostilities, we lost the large landing ship Saratov, lost the personnel of the landing ships Saratov, Novocherkassk and Caesar Kunikov. Today is the first mourning anniversary of this event,” said Mr. Menkov (the video of the speech was published by the Sevastopol TV channel NTS).

The names of 12 sailors are carved on the memorial plaque. It is installed on the facade of the building at the pier Mine Wall in Sevastopol. The ceremony was attended by relatives of the victims and servicemen of the landing craft brigade. Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reportedthat the memorial plaque is dedicated to the sailors “who died while performing combat missions to ensure the grouping of Russian forces in the Mariupol direction.”

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation has not previously commented on the loss of the Saratov large landing ship. The authorities of the Zaporizhia region in July 2022 reportedthat the ship was damaged during the shelling of Tochka-U missiles on March 24. According to the Russian state agency TASS, on this day, “Saratov” was damaged in the port of Berdyansk and “was flooded at the pier by the crew in order to prevent the detonation of live shells.” The ships “Novocherkassk” and “Caesar Kunikov” “received serious damage.”