• Russia confirmed one of its Black Sea Fleet warships was damaged by a Ukrainian missile attack.

• But Russian officials so far have only said that one person was killed.

• Independent Russian media suggests dozens may be dead.

The destruction of a Russian warship appears to be much worse than the Kremlin is willing to admit.

The Russian Navy landing vessel Novocherkassk — part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet — was damaged in a Ukrainian attack on a port in Russian-held Crimea, officials admitted on Tuesday.

But while the Kremlin-appointed governor has only said the ship was damaged and one person was killed, video and media reports paint a much darker picture.

Images of a massive explosion at a dock in Feodosia spread on social media. Reporters and open-source intelligence channels posted photos showing smoldering wreckage at the pier, backing up Ukraine’s claim that long-range missiles triggered a massive explosion that blew up the ship.

Independent Russian media is also questioning the official death toll.

Astra, a Telegram channel sharing Russian news from independent journalists, reported there were 77 sailors aboard the Novocherkassk at the time of the Ukrainian attack; this class of ship typically has a crew size of about 100 sailors.

While one person is confirmed dead, 33 more are still missing and another 23 people were wounded, Astra reported, citing anonymous sources.

Russia’s downplaying of the catastrophic ship attack has echoes of the cruiser Moskva sinking in 2022, after which some families of the ship’s 500 crew said they were being kept in the dark by officials.

The attack on the Novocherkassk is most likely not a serious blow to the Russian war machine, analysts like Mark Galeotti at the Spectator said. The apparent total loss of the ship will reduce the BSF’s capacity to move troops and tanks by sea.

But the strike is the latest to target Russia’s Black Sea fleet, which has been hammered by Ukrainian forces since Russia’s invasion began. Business Insider previously reported that Russian naval assets in occupied Crimea were being moved to safer ports.

Feodosia — the eastern Crimean dock where the Novocherkassk was hit — was one of those ports.

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