Russian President Vladimir Putin has been unable to secure certain key strategic aims that he’s been after amid his ongoing invasion of Ukraine — the capital, for instance, remains under Ukrainian control, and Ukrainian defenders have been able to inflict apparently steep losses on Russian invaders. Now, Ukrainian personnel have apparently destroyed a Russian warship called the Orsk, which had been in the vicinity of Berdyansk, a Ukrainian city that has temporarily fallen under the control of Russian forces (and where protests against the local Russian occupation have taken place). As explained by Newsweek, “The Orsk, a large landing support ship, was docked in the Azov Sea near the occupied port of Berdyansk, 45 miles southwest of the strategic besieged city of Mariupol.”
⚡️Ukraine’s military: Large Russian amphibious assault ship destroyed in Berdiansk.
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, the Russian warship “Orsk” was destroyed in the port of Berdiansk, which is currently occupied by the Russian forces.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 24, 2022
The Russian government news agency TASS previously reported that Zvezda, a Russian military-tied media outlet, called the arrival of the Orsk in Ukraine “an epic event that opens up opportunities for the Black Sea in terms of logistics by using the port of Berdyansk infrastructure to the full extent.” In other words, the ship’s arrival didn’t turn out how Russian invaders had planned. Apparently, the vessel could carry “up to 1,500 tons of equipment and cargo and transport up to 20 tanks or 40 armored personnel carriers (APCs),” as Newsweek explains. Russia’s other recently reported losses include multiple generals and 15 commanders, including Colonel Alexei Sharov, who commanded the 810th Guards Separate Order of Zhukov Brigade in the Russian Marines and was apparently killed in fighting around the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, where thousands of residents have reportedly been forcibly relocated by Russian personnel to far-off Russian cities. Check out an apparent video of the Orsk’s demise below:
Ukrainian armed forces destroyed Russian landing ship Orsk in the occupied port city of Berdyansk. Three more Russian ships there reportedly caught fire pic.twitter.com/vMXfroii6D
— Olga Tokariuk (@olgatokariuk) March 24, 2022
As has been widely reported, Russian personnel were recently conservatively estimated by U.S. intelligence to have already sustained over 7,000 troop deaths in Ukraine, and equipment losses on the Russians’ side have also been steep — although these strategic successes for the Ukrainians haven’t meant that the Ukrainian population hasn’t been struggling with immense suffering due to Putin’s onslaught. Although it’s not alone in this regard, Mariupol has been a site of particular concern — Russians have put the city under consistent bombardments, and thousands of residents have apparently died. Although evacuations from the city have been slowly continuing, those left behind have faced losses of access to critical utilities like running water. Meanwhile, pushback against the Russian regime has also come from around the world. A top Biden administration official informed reporters this Thursday of plans for the U.S. to announce new sanctions on over 300 members of the Russian legislature and more than 40 Russian companies in the defense sector. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously specifically advocated for new sanctions against Russian government officials alongside other sanctions.
General Staff of the Armed Forces: “The large landing ship “Orsk” of the Russian fleet destroyed in the temp. occupied port of Berdyansk. There will be more!”
“Orsk” was the first Russian ship to dock Ukrainian port, getting a huge media coverage in Russian media few days ago pic.twitter.com/ij4BFuMdpI— Yarema Dukh (@yarko) March 24, 2022
