The 3,500-tonne Krivak III-class frigate, pride of the Ukrainian Navy, which was undergoing repairs, is now partially underwater
The frigate Hetman Sahaydachniy (U130) in better days. AFP
The Russian offensive against Ukraine has been limited mostly to land or air, with Moscow using missiles and rockets. However, a recent tweet has brought the focus to the sea.
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A tweet, which has gone viral since being posted, shows Ukrainian Navy flagship Hetman Sahaidachny being scuttled in Nikolaev.
We take a look at what is the story all about.
About the incident
Here’s what we know so far about the image and the controversy surrounding it.
According to reports, images of the ship, appeared on social media, sitting half-submerged on its side appeared on 3 March.
The Drive, an independent publication, reported that the vessel was sunk on purpose by the Ukrainians in order to keep it from falling into the enemy’s hands.
This claim has now been verified by Ukrainian defense minister Oleksiy Reznikov. A report by Interfax had the minister saying that the ship, which was under repair, was flooded by the ship’s commander in order to avoid falling into the hands of the invaders.
“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,” Reznikov wrote on Facebook on Friday.
While the Krivak III/Menzhinskiy class frigate doesn’t pose as a major threat to the Russians, it is the flagship of the Ukrainian Navy’s fleet.
Experts note that Ukraine may have scuttled their ship. The reason: the Ukrainians fear that if it had fallen into the Russians’ hands, it would be a major propaganda win for Moscow and also act as a morale boost for their troops.
Features of the Hetman Sahaidachny
Commissioned on 2 April 1993, the 3,500-tonne Krivak III-class frigate was originally built at the Kerch Shipyard in Crimea.
The ship is equipped with a 100mm deck gun, smaller guns, anti-submarine grenade launchers, torpedo tubes, and a helicopter.
According to The Drive report, the 30-year-old frigate was supposedly receiving repairs in the port city of Mykolaiv when it was sunk.
While in service, the frigate has been widely used; in 2008, it took part in ‘Operation Active Endeavour’ in the Mediterranean Sea. The NATO operation was designed to prevent the movement of terrorists or weapons of mass destruction.
In 2013, the ship took part in NATO’s ‘Operation Ocean Shield’, an anti-piracy campaign off the Horn of Africa.
Other such instances
In June 1919, 52 German warships were sunk in one day but this huge naval loss was not inflicted by enemy forces.
Instead the scuttling of the German High Seas Fleet in Scapa Flow was a deliberate act of sabotage ordered by a commander who refused to let his ships become the spoils of war.
It was the single greatest loss of warships in history.
In 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, heavily damaged by the Royal Navy, leaking fuel, listing, rendered mostly unmanoeuvrable and with no effective weapons but still afloat, was reported to have been scuttled by her crew to avoid capture.
With inputs from agencies
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