Ukraine may have used ATACMS missiles to hit Russian submarine Rostov-on-Don

Ukraine may have used US-made ATACMS missiles to destroy a Russian Kilo-class submarine, the UK Ministry of Defence has said.

Here's What We Know

The Ministry of Defence explained that the attack on the submarine "took place in conjunction with a series of drone strikes". As a reminder, the General Staff of Ukraine recently announced for the first time that it had struck and sunk the Rostov-on-Don submarine of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

"The boat sank on the spot. The destruction of the submarine proves once again that there is no safe place for the Russian fleet in Ukrainian territorial waters of the Black Sea," the General Staff said.

The Ukrainian military hit the B-237 Rostov-on-Don, which is "one of four Kilo-class submarines capable of using Kalibr missiles.

This is not the first time that the submarine, which Ukraine says cost Russia $300 million, has been targeted in the conflict. In September, the submarine was catastrophically damaged by a missile attack on a shipyard in Sevastopol.

The defence ministry said the submarine "probably was not fully repaired" after the attack. And the latest incident "is probably the last chapter in the submarine's life, as it is likely to be more cost-effective to build a replacement submarine than to rebuild and repair it".

However, the defence ministry noted that the destruction of the vessel "is unlikely to have any serious impact on Russian long-range naval strikes against Ukraine from the Black Sea".

Source: Ministry of Defence