Participation of the Russian Federation's Black Sea Fleet submarines in massive strikes on Ukrainian territory during the Russo-Ukrainian War (2022– 2023) as a manifestation of Russian state terrorism

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to highlight the participation of submarines of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation in delivering massive missile strikes on targets in the territory of Ukraine during the Russo - Ukrainian War (2022 – 2023) as a manifestation of Russian state terrorism at sea. The methodology of the research is based on the use of open sources, the integration of general scientific methods (analysis, synthesis, generalization, statistical) and special historical methods (problem - chronological, comparative - historical, analogy, geographical), as well as content analysis. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that in the current conditions of the ongoing armed struggle for the independence of Ukraine, it is especially relevant in the preparation and repulsion of armed aggression from the sea and the military - patriotic education of the population of our state to study the experience of using the naval forces of the opposing sides, which has not yet been sufficiently reflected in modern Ukrainian historiography. Therefore, based on the study of open sources and literature, an attempt has been made to reveal an extremely important and relevant problem of today – an analysis of the participation of submarines of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in delivering massive missile strikes on objects on the territory of Ukraine during the first two years of the Russian - Ukrainian war . Conclusions . The strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet's strike capabilities since the beginning of the Russian Federation's armed aggression against Ukraine in 2014 was aimed at preparing for a large - scale invasion of Ukraine. This occurred primarily by replenishing the enemy fleet with both surface and underwater carriers of "Kalibr" sea - launched cruise missiles — both anti - ship and anti - submarine, and most importantly, capable of striking targets on land. The build - up of the Russian Navy's submarine forces in the Black Sea on the eve of the full - scale armed invasion of Ukraine significantly strengthened the enemy's strike capabilities, provided the opportunity to covertly deploy them and deliver sudden strikes, and testified to the growing role and position of submarine forces in modern warfare at sea. With the start of Russia's full - scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting from July 6, 2022, submarines began to be actively used in massive air strikes, which, combined with missile strikes by surface carriers of "Kalibr" cruise missiles, became a manifestation of Russian state terrorism against the Ukrainian people. However, the sinking of the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the missile cruiser "Moskva", in April 2022 led to the submarines of the Black Sea Fleet becoming the main "safe" platform for launching "Kalibr" cruise missiles at critical infrastructure facilities, primarily the energy infrastructure of our state. At the same time, the threat of damage to the enemy's surface and underwater forces by the Defense Forces of Ukraine prompted the enemy in the autumn of 2022 to relocate part of its forces to Novorossiysk. September 2023 became a turning point in the conduct of warfare at sea, in particular submarine warfare: the damage to the Project 636.3 diesel - electric submarine "Rostov - on - Don" alongside the Project 775 landing ship "Minsk" in a dry dock in Sevastopol and systematic strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters and other strategic facilities indicated the enemy's loss of initiative at sea and the end of the phase of the Black Sea Fleet's unpunished use of naval bases in Crimea.