Odesa: As the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues, the Ukrainian Navy’s flagship Hetman Sahaidachny (U 130) was seen in a partially submerged state. Ukraine has sunk its own frigate in an attempt to prevent Russia from securing a major propaganda win. As there are fears that Russia may capture the port city Odesa, Ukraine does not want Russia to lay its hands on the ship as a major battlefield trophy.
Images of the sunk vessel appeared on social media on Thursday in which the ship is shown sitting half-submerged on one side. This ship is a 3,100-ton displacement Krivak III/Menzhinskiy class frigate and it is insufficient to take on Russia’s mammoth Black Sea fleet. But if in case Russia seizes it, this would gain a major propaganda win to Russia in the ongoing war.
Confirming the development, Ukrainian defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said, “The commander of the flagship of the Ukrainian Navy followed the order to flood the ship so that the Hetman Sahaidachny frigate, which was under repair, would not fall into the hands of the enemy. It is hard to imagine a more difficult decision for a courageous soldier and crew.”
The minister added that in the future Ukraine will build a new fleet, “modern and powerful.”
Hetman Sahaidachny was supposedly the pride of the Ukrainian Navy. The ship had a 100mm deck gun, smaller guns, anti-submarine grenade launchers, torpedo tubes, and a helicopter. The ship had taken an active part in ‘Operation Active Endeavour’ in the Mediterranean Sea, aimed to prevent the movement of terrorists. It has also taken part in NATO’s “Operation Ocean Shield,” an anti-piracy campaign off the Horn of Africa.
This ship was decimated in the Crimean war of 2014, after which Ukraine had lost its primary base in Sevastopol, 12 of its 17 major surface combatants, most of its naval aviation assets, as Russia had annexed the Crimea peninsula. The main centres for repair, maintenance, training, and depot facilities had gone under the control of Russian forces.
The frigate was not active at present, as it was undergoing repairs and modernization work at Mykolayiv Shipyard in Mykolayiv, also known as Nikolaev.
Meanwhile, a large flotilla of Russian ships near Crimea is seen in some videos on Twitter. The fleet includes eight Russian tank landing ships, which were previously used for a landing between Berdyansk and Mariupol.